Unbreakable Vow
by Arwennicole
Summary: Bella is a single mother to a one-year-old little boy, believing she was destined to be alone and raising her son as a single mother. What happens when she moves to Forks to live with her dad and she meets a certain Cullen? AU/AH
1. Chapter 1

Unbreakable Vow

By

Nicole

Disclaimer: I dont own the _Twilight Saga_, Stephenie Meyer does.

Summary: Bella is a single mother to a one-year-old little boy, believing she was destined to be alone and raising her son as a single mother. What happens when she moves to Forks to live with her dad and she meets a certain Cullen? AU

Unbreakable Vow

Chapter 1: Not the Same

_She was running, hearing the cries of her child in a closet. Eli? Eli! ELIJAH! she shouted as she ran over to the doors. Her heart was slamming into her chest as she ripped the doors open, but only to find an empty closet and then evil laughter._

Sitting up in her bed, Bella let out a gasp. Her hair stuck to her forehead from the sweat and her t-shirt was soaked through. Letting out a shaky breath, she pressed her hand against her forehead when she heard noises coming from the baby monitor by her bed. Getting up, she swung her feet over the side of her bed before getting up and heading down the hall.

Opening the door, she smiled a little at the one-year-old standing up in his crib. He had dark curly hair and emerald green eyes. "Hello Eli," she cooed, lifting her one-year-old up into her arms.

"Ma, ma, ma, ma," the boy gurgled, tugging on her curls a little.

Smiling, she pressed a kiss to his forehead before placing him on his changing table. "Ba, ba," the boy babbled.

"We'll get you a bottle in a minute," she answered as she changed him.

After changing his diaper and then putting him in a pair of little gray shorts and a light blue t-shirt that had 'Mama's boy' written across the chest. Smiling, she kissed his forehead again before carrying him downstairs. "Good morning," her mother greeted smiling.

"Morning mom," Bella answered as she took a bottle that was sitting in the warmer.

Renee smiled as she pressed a kiss to the top of her grandson's head. "Such a calm baby," she commented. Bella smiled as she sat down with her son.

"Yeah I don't seem to recall such a quiet kid," Phil commented.

"Eli's never been like other babies," Bella answered as she stroked her son's cheek.

Renee smiled as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Bella, you don't have to go back to Forks, I can stay home," she told her daughter.

"I know, but this'll be great. It'll give Charlie a chance to get to know me and Eli better," Bella replied.

Eli let out little noises while eating. Once his bottle was drained, Bella gently tapped her son's back to burp him, smiling when she succeeded. "Your flight leaves at 4:30," Renee told her daughter.

"Okay," Bella murmured.

Standing up, she put Eli into his playpen while she went upstairs to change and get everything packed for hers and Eli's move back to Forks.

The plane ride was uneventful, Eli just fell asleep in his mother's arms which surprised most of the passengers. They were expecting Eli to be like other babies and scream the whole way there, but instead he snuggled up against his mother and fell asleep. Smiling Bella was stroking her son's hair tenderly, resting her forehead against the top of his head. She started humming softly a tune that his father used to sing to him when he was a newborn baby.

Bella pressed a gentle kiss to the side of her son's head as his hands closed around the ring that hung around her neck. The last year had been difficult, extremely difficult to being a single mother as well as mourning the loss of her son's father, the love of her life. Just the memory of him hurt, but she had part of him, her son…their son. It was even more difficult that his father's parents didn't want anything to do with their grandson, to the point they tried to deny he was her boyfriend's child. They went as far as wanting a DNA test done.

When the test came back positive that Eli was their grandson, they still wanted nothing to do with him. Bella could only guess that they wanted only their son back, not only a piece of him. To her, it was unfair that her son would miss out on other memories of his father that the Masens could off him, but they were too hurt and too stubborn to be part of his life.

Shaking her head a little, she sat back in her chair and stroked her son's hair, falling asleep as well.

When the plane landed, Bella walked through the gate with her son in her arms. "Look, there's grandpa," she said smiling, pointing to Charlie who was waiting.

"Poppa!" he said smiling.

Charlie smiled as he took his grandson into his arms. "Hey there Eli," he murmured. Eli stared as he started poking at his grandfather's badge. "Hey Bells," Charlie greeted.

"Hi," she answered.

She wrapped her arm around his back as he kissed her forehead. "How are you doing kiddo?" he asked.

"I'm fine dad," she replied, smiling a little.

The last time Charlie saw his daughter, it wasn't a real happy reunion. He was there to be her shoulder during Edward's funeral. "Ready?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

They went to get their things before he drove them back to Forks in his squad car.

When they arrived at the house, Bella went into the back of the car to get Eli, who had fallen asleep in his car seat. "He's a fast sleeper," he commented.

"He's just a calm toddler," Bella replied as she carried him inside.

"Yeah, I gathered that," he commented as he followed her.

They went upstairs and Bella saw that he had put a crib together. "I figured you'd want him in here with you than down in the living room or something," he commented.

"It's great, thanks dad," she replied as she placed Eli into the crib.

Pushing her hair from her eyes, she let out a sigh. "So…I cleaned off a shelf for you in the bathroom. The lady at the store picked out the bedding, you like purple right?" he asked.

"Purple's cool," she replied.

Charlie nodded his head slowly as they went down the stairs. "How was the trip?" he asked.

"Uneventful, Eli just slept the whole way," she replied.

Nodding his head slowly, they sat down in the living room. "I'm still surprised of how quiet he is," he commented.

"Yeah, it's been great. He's great, reminds me a lot of…Edward," she murmured softly.

"How are you doing since then?" Charlie asked.

"I'm alright dad, I just kind of don't want to talk about it," she replied.

Charlie nodded in understanding. "It's kind of late and I'm pretty tired…so I'm just going to go to bed," she told him.

"Goodnight Bells," he answered.

She nodded before going back upstairs.

After checking on Eli once more, she got into bed and fell into another restless slumber.

The next day was the first day of school and daycare for Eli. She got her son all set for his first day of daycare. "There you are little man, all set and ready to go," she said smiling. She couldn't help but laugh as he clapped his hands excitedly. "Yay," she answered, laughing as she clapped her hands a little. Eli gurgled.

"Ma, ma, ma," he babbled.

"Yep, mama," she answered, lifting him up into her arms.

Walking downstairs, she had the diaper bag over her shoulder while her backpack was over her other shoulder. "Have a good day Bells," Charlie told her.

"Thanks, dad," she replied.

Walking over to the truck he gave her, she got Eli into his car seat before putting their bags into the bed of the truck. Climbing in, she started the truck up and drove off.

Arriving at the daycare center, Bella got out and got her son out of his seat. "Welcome," the woman greeted as she walked over, "I'm Miss Bright and you must be Isabella and Elijah?"

"Bella and Eli," Bella replied.

"Right, well welcome. Come in and take a look around," she said smiling.

Bella nodded as they went into the daycare center. Looking around, she saw that there were plenty of children Eli's age playing. "There are plenty of kids Eli's age to play with," Miss Bright told her.

"Well Eli is more independent," Bella answered.

"We have a few a independent ones here," Miss Bright commented.

She gestured to the children who played alone. Bella bit her lower lip as she held her son close. "He has plenty of toys, he likes his toy piano," Bella told the woman as she pulled out the little toy piano. On the toy it had the initials _E. A. M._ written across the top. "Could you just make sure no other kids touch this one? Out of all his toys this one he's very possessive over," she explained.

"I understand," Miss Bright answered, "even though we do encourage sharing."

"I understand that, Eli does share well when he has to, just not with his piano," Bella explained.

Miss Bright nodded and Bella placed her son on the floor. "Okay Eli, mama has all your favorite toys right here and Miss Bright will have it all," she told him. Eli just sat on the floor and started playing with his piano. Seeing that he had lost interest in her, she kissed her son's forehead before standing up. "I'll be back at 3:30 to get him," she stated.

"Alright," Miss Bright answered.

Bella stroked her son's hair before leaving the daycare center. She hated leaving him at the daycare, it felt like she was abandoning him almost. Her mother took care of him whenever she went to school, she never had to worry about daycare before. Now that she had to put him into daycare, she just felt guilty for it. Sitting in her truck, Bella closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against the wheel. Letting out a deep breath, she started her truck and drove to school.


	2. Forks High

Chapter 2: Forks High

Arriving at the high school, Bella got out of her truck as it backfired. Sighing, she pushed her hair from her eyes as she swung her backpack over her shoulder. Already she was missing Eli, it broke her heart that she couldn't be with him, especially since he was in a whole new place.

Walking up the stairs, she felt the students' eyes on her back as well as the whispers. With this town being so small, they probably knew about Eli already. They probably already knew that she was a single mother raising her one-year-old son. She just hoped that Edward's name wasn't being dragged into the mud for not being here. Thinking of Edward made her heart ache a little more, knowing that she was raising their son without him around.

After getting her papers for the day, Bella went over to her locker, taping up her favorite photograph. It was a picture of Edward, holding Eli for the first time. Her mother took the picture.

Edward was standing by the hospital window, the sun was setting, and he was cradling Eli in his arms. The baby was swaddled up, sleeping peacefully in his father's arm with a blue pacifier in his mouth. Edward's green eyes were shining with pride as he was looking down at his child. "Hello!" a voice greeted, starling Bella out of her thoughts. Looking over, she saw a girl with long black hair, brown eyes, wearing black ballet flats, blue jeans, a long-sleeved pale purple shirt, and white rimmed glasses.

"Um…hi," Bella said slowly.

"I'm Angela Weber, I'm your tour-guide," the girl told her.

"Oh…right hi," Bella answered, shaking her hand.

Angela smiled. "So any questions so far?" she asked.

"Not really," Bella replied as they walked down the hall.

"How do you like Forks so far?" Angela asked.

"It's a good place for my son and me," Bella replied, "quieter than Phoenix, but the cold and the rain I don't like so much."

Angela nodded a little. "You're from Phoenix? But you look so pale," she commented. Biting her lower lip, she pushed her hair from her eyes.

"Well I'm albino so they kicked me out," Bella answered, making Angela laugh.

"That's funny," she commented.

Bella smiled a little as they went through the school, but then Angela suddenly stopped and took a picture. "Smile," she said, making the girl blink rapidly.

"Wow…" she commented as she tried to get her vision.

"Sorry, I forgot I needed a candid for the feature," Angela commented.

The young woman's eyes widened. "Please don't do a feature on me, I don't want all the attention," she insisted. Angela smiled a little, a little disappointed she could tell.

"Alright, no feature. Sure Eric would love that," she quipped as they walked down the hall.

Bella laughed a little, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear nervously as the girls went to their first class together.

When lunch period came, Bella sat down at Angela's lunch table. "Oh Bella, this is Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, and Jessica Stanley," Angela told her.

"Hi," she greeted.

"So the new girl, Isabella," Mike commented.

"Just Bella please," Bella replied.

"Well welcome to Forks," Mike commented.

"Thanks," Bella answered.

She started poking at what was supposed to be mashed potatoes on her tray as she was talking to these kids at the table. She realized they weren't so bad, at least she could get into a conversation with them. "So I hear we're cancelling our feature?" Eric asked.

"Um…yeah…I really don't want the attention. The last thing I need is my face plastered on a newspaper," Bella replied.

"Totally cool, but now we should think of another editorial," Eric commented, looking at Angela.

"Well we could do another one on teen drinking," Angela suggested.

While they were talking about topics, Bella looked out the window to see a group of kids coming into the lunchroom. "Who are they?" she asked curiously. Angela and Jessica glanced at the kids.

"The Cullens," Angela replied.

"They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's kids, they came down from Alaska in Freshman year," Jessica commented.

"They kind of keep to themselves most of the time," Angela answered.

Bella looked over as the first kid walked in. He was extremely tall and muscular, his sized reminded her of a bear really. He had dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes, he was wearing black boots, blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a navy blue vest. "That really big guy is Emmett Cullen, he's built to be a football player, but he's like the "star" of our baseball team," Jessica explained.

"The tall blond is Rosalie Hale, his ex-girlfriend so it's obvious she's not a Cullen kid. You can tell they're exes too because they do nothing but fight," Angela commented.

As if on cue, Bella jumped when a chair was yanked back. "How about keeping your mouth shut for once?" the guy snapped at the blond.

"Grow up," the blond muttered back.

Emmett plopped down in his chair as the last two walked in. "The shorter girl is Alice, she's actually not one to keep to herself. She's like the president of the Dance Committee and she's Emmett's little sister. She's also like really weird," Jessica commented. Bella watched as the short girl held onto the guy's arm with a smile when he grabbed her hand and spun her around once. "She's with Rosalie's brother, Jasper," Jessica added.

Bella jumped when the smaller girl skipped over. "Hi!" she greeted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Um…hi," Bella answered slowly.

"You must be Bella! Hi I'm Alice Cullen," she said smiling, "this is Jasper Hale."

Alice was pulling her boyfriend's arm with beaming green eyes. "Hi," Bella answered.

"Pleasure to meet you Bella. How are you liking Forks so far?" Jasper asked.

"It's a little cold and wet for my taste," Bella replied.

"Well, I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends," Alice said excitedly before hugging Bella.

Jasper was holding back a small chuckle at his girlfriend's excitement. "I think your brother is waving us over," he told his girlfriend. Alice sighed.

"Emmett used to be so much fun now he's just a great big party pooper," she pouted before she waved at Bella then she and Jasper joined Emmett and Rosalie at their table.

"See what I mean? She's weird," Jessica commented.

Bella laughed a little bit before she glanced over her shoulder at them.

After lunch, Bella was making her way towards her locker to get her next set of books when she had a feeling someone was behind her. Turning around, she let out a gasp, tripping over her own feet and fell on the floor. "Whoa! Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," the person commented, chuckling lightly.

"That's okay," she answered as he helped her up.

She looked up to see that it was Emmett. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Emmett," he told her, holding out his hand.

"Bella," she answered, shaking his hand.

She bit her lower lip as he reached down and picked up her books for her. "I think you'll need these," he commented.

"Thanks," she answered.

Smiling, she pushed her hair from her eyes again. "Cute kid," he told her, gesturing to the picture of Eli that was taped into her locker.

"Thanks," she answered, smiling.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"Eli," she replied, "he's about a year and two months old now."

"Cool," he said smiling.

They looked up when the warning bell went off. "See you later Bella," he said told her with a crooked, dimpled grin before walking away. Bella watched him walk away and didn't realize that she was still standing in the middle of the hallway with her arms filled with books. Clearing her throat, she closed her locker door and hurried off to class.

After school, Bella went over to the daycare center to find her son still playing on his toy piano. "Hey baby," she said smiling, lifting her son up.

"Ma, ma!" he said happily, hugging her around her neck.

Bella kissed her son's forehead. "Miss mama?" she asked smiling. He nodded with a big smile, burying his face into her neck. Smiling, Bella rubbed her son's back, after thanking Miss Bright she went to take her son back home.

Driving back home, she saw that Charlie was home. "Looks like Grandpa didn't have to work late at the station," she commented as she got out.

Except as soon as her foot touched the muddy, wet ground, she slipped and slid underneath her truck with a yelp. Charlie ran over, helping his daughter up. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yep, mud doesn't help the uncoordinated," she replied.

Charlie chuckled lightly. "I'll grab Eli," he told her.

"Thanks," she answered, looking at all the mud on her pants.

Shaking his head slowly, Charlie lifted Eli out of his car seat. "I'm trying to figure out how you actually carried him around for nine months without hurting yourself and him," he commented with a slight chuckle.

"Trust me, I've been trying to figure that out too," she replied, "it's like my body was in balance when I was pregnant."

They laughed as they climbed the stairs, going into the house.

After showering and changing, Bella went downstairs to find her dad in the living room with Eli in his lap, watching the Mariners on the television. "First game of the season?" she asked.

"You know it," Charlie replied.

"Surprised Billy Black's not here," she commented.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Walking over, she answered the door to see her old childhood friend, Jacob Black, standing there. "Jake, hi," she greeted smiling.

"Hey Bella," Jacob greeted, hugging her.

Bella hugged him back with a smile. "Hi Billy," she greeted, shaking his hand.

"Bella, welcome back to Forks. Your dad wouldn't stop talking about it," Billy commented.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I'm holding my grandson Billy," he quipped as Jacob pushed his dad's wheelchair into the house.

"Yes pick on the cripple," Billy answered as he wheeled himself into the living room.

Bella laughed, shaking her head as she walked over to Charlie. "You're not using my son as a shield," she quipped, lifting Eli up into her arms.

"Hey come on Bells at least let the kid watch the game," Charlie insisted.

"If I say 'yes' will you adults play nice?" Bella asked.

"Yes," Charlie replied with a grin.

Bella placed her son back into her dad's arms before she went to go outside to talk with Jacob.

The two friends sat down on the porch steps. "I see you like the truck," he commented.

"Yeah, it's great. How are things between you and Leah?" she asked, nudging him a little.

"Good, everything's good," he replied smiling.

Bella smiled as she pushed her hair from her eyes. "How about you?" he asked.

"I'm alright, taking things day by day," she replied.

Jacob wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Smiling, she rested her head on his shoulder. "It's nice to be somewhere new," she murmured.

"I'm sure," he answered.

Letting out a sigh, Bella sat up as she wrapped her jacket around herself a little more. "You're not in Phoenix anymore Bells," Jacob reminded her with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss Phoenix's heat that's for sure," she replied.

Jacob chuckled lightly. "It's nice to be somewhere quiet though where I can raise Eli without anyone trying to hurt us," she murmured, rubbing her hands together.

"Bella, no one can hurt you anymore," he answered softly.

Smiling a little at her friend, she let out a sigh. "Are you still having nightmares?" he asked.

"No…" she replied slowly.

"Bella you've always been a bad liar," he told her.

Biting her lower lip, she twisted her moon ring on her index finger. "They're nothing I can't handle, Jake. They're just dreams," she told him.

"Well you know you can always come to me. Call me night or day," he answered.

Letting out a deep breath, she nodded her head slowly. "Okay," she murmured. She rested her forehead against his shoulder, closing her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder comfortingly.


	3. First Weekend

Chapter 3: First Weekend

Saturday came and Bella woke up to the sun shining in her room. Sitting up, she hurried over to her window. She smiled to see that the sun was really out. "Ma, ma, ma," Eli called. Walking over to the crib, she lifted her son up.

"Hey cutie, looks like we'll be able to play outside today," she said smiling.

After getting Eli changed and dressed for the day, Bella got showered and dressed before going downstairs to find her dad at the breakfast table drinking coffee. "Did you eat already?" she asked as she put Eli into his chair. Charlie glanced at his daughter.

"Yeah," he replied.

Bella looked in the sink to see that he made himself an omelet. "Any plans today kiddo?" he asked.

"I was thinking of taking Eli to the park," Bella replied.

Eli just gurgled and Bella poured some Cheerios onto his tray. "Do you want to come?" Bella asked. Charlie let out a sigh as he placed the paper on the table.

"I'd really like to Bells, but I got called to the station this morning," he replied.

Nodding her head slowly, she started cleaning up the dishes. "Tell you what, how about you and Eli meet me at the diner for lunch?" he suggested.

"Sure that'll be fun," Bella replied.

Eli just gurgled some more, clapping his hands making his mother smile. "Alright, well I have to get going. See you later Bells," Charlie told her. She waved at him as he left and let out a sigh as she started eating the bagel she had just finished toasting.

After cleaning breakfast up, Bella had Eli strapped into his car seat before driving off to the park.

Arriving at the park, the young mother got out and lifted her son up into her arms. "Stay out of the mud Eli," she told her son as she placed him into the sandbox when she noticed a mud puddle not too far away.

She squatted down in front of her son, pushing a curl behind her ear as she helped him make a sandcastle. She looked out to see a bunch of guys from the high school playing football. She recognized several of them, but then she noticed Emmett Cullen was one of the guys on the field. "I thought they said he played baseball," she murmured to herself.

Shrugging, she went back to playing with Eli when the football landed not too far from the sandbox. "I've got it!" she heard Emmett call out. Standing up, she grabbed the football and held it up as Emmett ran over. "Hey thanks," he said with a grin.

"You're welcome," she answered.

"So how are you liking the rare sunshine we get here?" Emmett asked.

"I like it, I can finally take Eli outside without his rain stuff," Bella replied.

"I'm sure, so this is the infamous Eli," Emmett commented.

Eli just looked at him curiously, his green eyes were wide with wonder. "Yeah this is my son," Bella replied, lifting him up.

"Hey there buddy," Emmett said smiling as he held a small hand in his larger hand.

Eli was just examining the large hand curiously. "Heard a lot about ya buddy," he commented.

"How…" Bella started.

"Small town," Emmett replied reluctantly.

Biting her lower lip, she looked at her son. "I'm guessing they're saying quite a few things about me too," she commented. Emmett shrugged.

"Yeah well, don't really believe rumors, I just find them funny," he replied chuckling.

"So wait how could you know a lot about Eli then?" she asked.

"My dad knows your dad. He's a proud grandpa," Emmett replied, "hence why I said this is a small town."

Bella couldn't help but look surprised at what he had said about Charlie. "Wait, a proud grandpa?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure your dad was far from thrilled that his sixteen-year-old was pregnant, but then the news grew on him. Kept talking about how he couldn't wait to see you that coming summer to see Eli for the first time," Emmett explained.

The young woman's heart stopped, the summer. The summer that never happened because he ended up coming to Phoenix for the funeral. "HEY EMMETT!" one of the guys shouted.

"BE RIGHT THERE!" Emmett shouted back.

Looking over, Emmett smiled a little. "Hey do you want to you know hang out sometime get to know each other more?" he asked.

"Um…as much fun as that sounds, I really can't. I have mommy duty," she replied.

"Well bring the little guy with you, we'll all have fun," he told her.

Winking, he ran back to the field. "Ma, ma," Eli called, holding his arms out to his mother. Bending down, she reached her son up into her arms, kissing his forehead.

"Ready to go home munchkin?" she asked, kissing his cheek.

"No," he replied.

Smiling, she kissed his cheek again before putting him in the swing, pushing him gently. She watched as her son swung back and forth in the swing. Biting her lower lip, she pushed her hair from her eyes, she couldn't help but feel sad to have these moments, but she had no one to share these moments with.

Emmett was still playing the game with his friends when he looked over at Bella and her son. She was pushing him on the swing, smiling as her son was giggling up a storm. Except, he couldn't see that she was clearly sad still. As many rumors and as many stories his father told him, he never heard a single thing about the boy's father. He was a mystery, a complete mystery to him and the whole town. He was probably the best kept secret in town. "Yo! Em you gonna play or just stand there and watching Chief Swan's daughter?" one of his friend's called out.

"Sorry," he answered before catching the ball his friend tossed to him.

Going back over to the other team.

When she got home that afternoon, she saw Jacob's car sitting in front of the house. "Hey there," Jacob called as he walked out of the house.

"Hey Jake," she answered.

"Jay! Jay!" the boy said smiling, holding his little arms open to his godfather.

Smiling, Jacob took the little boy into his arms. "Have fun today buddy?" he asked. The one-year-old just gripped the front of his black t-shirt.

"Leah inside?" she asked.

"Yeah and so is Mr. and Mrs. Masen," he replied.

Bella stared at him with wide eyes. "Edward's parents? Why they haven't wanted anything with us for the last year," she commented. Jacob let out a sigh.

"They want to suddenly apologize to you about what they said about Eli," he replied. "And how about me? They basically said I slept with every man in Phoenix," Bella told him.

"They also want to visit Eli," he answered.

Bella glared at the house, taking her son into her arms. "Yeah, that'll happen when I sprout wings from my back," she muttered as she started walking away.

"Bella you can't run from them," he told her.

"Watch me!" she snapped.

She kept walking down the driveway way and down the street. Jacob sighed as he ran after her. "Where are you going?" he asked going after her.

"I don't know, I don't want to be here," she replied, "I don't want to be anywhere where they are."

She kissed the top of her son's head. "They denied Eli for so long, they denied him and they sat there bugging me for a DNA test from the moment Eli was born. They even argued with Edward about it, Edward refused the DNA test, but they insisted there was no possible way Eli could be his," she muttered. She started walking down the steep hill when she slipped in mud and let out a yelp when she fell on her butt. Letting out a sigh she just sat on the ground and Eli was giggling up a storm.

"You okay?" Jacob asked as he helped her up.

"Yep just another infamous 'Bella moment'," she replied with a sigh.

Jacob smiled as he helped steady her. "Come on don't you think you should be the bigger person and talk to them?" he asked.

"No, because the only reason they care now is because Edward is gone," she replied.

She let out a sigh. "If they had it their way I would've been banned from the funeral. Actually wait, they tried that," she commented.

"Don't you think they hurt too Bella? Edward was their son, it'd be like something happening to Eli," he told her.

"Don't talk about something happening to Eli. I don't even want to think about it," she muttered.

"Exactly, every parents' worse nightmare is something happening to their child. They're just living that nightmare," he replied.

Bella bit her lower lip, looking at her son who was looking up at her curiously. His big green eyes sparkling, the same green eyes he got from his father. "Bella, won't you at least talk to them?" Jacob asked, "see what they have to say? If not for yourself then for Eli? Or even Edward? Do you think he would want you to be this separated from his parents?"

She stood on the side of the road, pondering over his words. "No…" she said with a sigh. Jacob held her hand as he led her back to the house.

Bella walked into the house, seeing the Masens still talking to her father. "Bella, hi," Charlie greeted.

"Hi," she answered.

"Hello Bella," Elizabeth told him, standing up.

Bella nodded to her. "I'm going to get Eli changed," she murmured.

"I'll go with you Bella," Leah told her, following her.

Going into her room, Bella placed her son on the bed, unbutton his jacket. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"My hands are shaking at the idea of talking to them," Bella replied with a shaky breath.

"Charlie's been keeping his nerves together. They've been trying no to be so cynical about you," Leah told her.

Closing her eyes for a second, Bella rested her hands on the side of the bed before opening her eyes to see her son staring up at her curiously. "What have they said so far?" she asked.

"They said that you and Edward were right all along that Eli's son," Leah replied.

"The damn DNA test said that!" Bella exclaimed, "even then they said my mother switched the tests!"

She pushed her hair from her eyes with a sigh. "Leah I swore I would never have anything to do with them after they tried to ban me from Edward's funeral," she explained angrily. She sat down on the bed. "I can't talk to them Leah. Just seeing them…it brought back all the pain they threw on me. They said it was my fault Edward died, they said that if I hadn't been in Edward's life he would still be alive," she added.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she pulled her son into her arms. "I can't do it Leah, I can't," she whispered. Leah sat beside her and hugged her gently as she cried.

Outside the room, Charlie and Jacob had heard everything. Jacob looked towards the stairs and walked down them with Charlie behind him. "Mr. and Mrs. Masen, Bella's not ready to talk to you," Charlie told them.

"Can't we at least see Eli?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm not about to take Eli from her right now. She'll have you see Eli when she's ready to sit in the room with you," Charlie replied.

"This is ridiculous," Edward Senior muttered.

Jacob glared at him. "Maybe if you had been kinder to her when Edward died you wouldn't have to sit here asking permission to see your grandson," he answered. He suddenly felt guilty for trying to talk Bella into seeing them when she wasn't ready.

"And who are you? Her new boyfriend?" Edward Senior demanded.

"Her best friend and don't ever insinuate that something is between us. It's never been like that," he answered before going upstairs.

Going into Bella's room, he sat down on the other side of Bella, hugging her. Bella let out a small sob, resting her head on his shoulder. They just sat there in silence and all Bella could do was wish the pain would go away.


	4. Wanting an Escape

Chapter 4: Wanting an Escape

Two days passed since the Masens suddenly showed up wanting to see Eli. She never spoke to them, but she knew they were still in Forks. They kept calling the house and it was getting on her nerves. Unable to take it, she took her son and went the Reservation.

Pulling up to the Black house, she saw Jacob outside working on the Rabbit. "Hey Jake," she called, getting out of her truck.

"Hey Bells," Jacob answered, looking up from his work.

Grabbing a rag, he wiped his hands. He smiled when he saw Eli toddling toward him. "Hey there buddy," he said smiling.

"Jay, Jay," Eli answered, wrapping his tiny arms around Jacob's leg.

Sighing, Bella sat on the hood of the Rabbit after Jacob closed it. "What's up?" he asked as he held Eli on his hip.

"The Masens are getting on my nerves Jake. I'm not sure what to do anymore," she murmured.

"Well has your dad talked to them?" he asked.

"Yes, but they're persistent," she replied.

She pushed her hair over her shoulder. "Can I stay here for a couple of days Jake? Just to get away from them?" she asked.

"I really don't think running will solve anything," he replied.

Sighing, she pulled her knee up to her chest. "Can't they see I'm not ready?" she asked.

"They'll get the picture," he replied.

Looking at her son, she moved her fingers through his bronze curls. "Everything will get sorted out," Jacob reassured her, kissing her temple.

"I hope so Jake, I don't know what else to do," she murmured.

Pulling her close, he kissed the top of her head as they sat in silence.

Later that day, Bella went to school to help with some set designs for the school play. She didn't really want to do it, but her dad talked her into it. Walking by the gym, she heard basketballs getting bounced around and looked inside. "Alright guys let's go," she heard Emmett call out. Looking inside, she saw that it was a bunch of younger kids around ten doing warm ups.

Stopping, she watched as Emmett was going around encouraging the kids. He grabbed the whistle around his neck and blew into it, making them stop. "Alright, let's count off and separate into teams," he told the kids. He had them count off and Bella watched as the kids ran to the sides of the gym they were supposed to go.

Smiling, she watched as the kids ran around playing, having the time of their lives. She watched as Emmett stood off to the side, watching them with a huge, dimpled grin. She laughed a little as Emmett grabbed the ball that flew his way just as it was inches from his face. "Hey how about the basket not my head?" he commented. He tossed the ball back to the kids when he looked towards Bella's direction.

Bella froze when she saw Emmett staring in her direction. Biting her lower lip, she rubbed the back of her neck as he walked over to her. "Surprised to see you here after school hours," he commented.

"Yeah well my dad talked me into doing the set stuff for the school play," she answered.

"Sounds like fun," he commented.

"Yeah not really, I'm not much of an artist," she replied.

Emmett grinned, leaning against the wall. "So you're a coach?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's a nice after school job," he replied.

Smiling, she crossed her arms over her chest. "So have you thought over my invite?" he asked. Sighing, she looked down at her shoes for a second.

"Emmett, it's sweet that you'd offer to take both Eli and me out, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to date," she replied.

Emmett nodded his head slowly. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Why sorry? Rather you be honest than force yourself into something you're not ready for," he replied.

Smiling a little, she froze when Emmett took her hand and shook it. "I'm here when you need me though Bella. For anything, consider me a friend," he told her.

"Okay," she answered.

He looked back out to the court. "I have to get back to work. See you later Bella. Tell Eli I say 'Hey'," he told her with a wink before going back to the court to his team. Bella bit her lower lip before she grabbed her things and left instead of helping with the set designs.

Arriving home, Bella went inside and upstairs. "Bella?" Charlie called.

"I just want to be alone," she answered.

Lifting Eli up into her arms, she put his jacket on him before leaving the house.

Walking down the wooded path, she smiled as Eli kept pointing to the birds he would see. "Yeah it's pretty neat isn't it?" she asked her son, kissing his forehead softly. The little boy just gripped the front of his mother's jacket, resting his little head on her shoulder. Smiling, she kissed her son's forehead.

She walked for awhile before she pushed back a branch, finding her secret place. It was a beautiful meadow, the only place she felt like she could truly be alone with Eli. Setting her son down, she grabbed the blanket from the backpack she had brought with her. Spreading it across the ground, she lied down on her side after taking Eli's toys out. Eli toddled over, grabbing his favorite red ball, tossing it to his mother.

Smiling, she held the ball up and tossed it back to the giggling boy. "Having fun?" she asked him smiling. Eli's answer was sitting down on the ground, trying to bounce the ball in the grass. When he gave up trying to get the ball to bounce, he started going through his mother's backpack.

Bella watched him with a smile when he suddenly pulled out a picture. "Dada," he told her, showing her the picture.

"Yeah that's dada," she answered as he sat beside her with the picture in his tiny hands.

"Dada, dada," he repeated over and over again giggling.

Reaching up, she stroked her son's hair gently. "Yeah, your dada loved you very, very much," she murmured. Yeah they were sixteen-year-old kids who were terrified when she found out she was pregnant, but then they both embraced the idea of becoming parents.

Edward became so excited, she recalled how she came home from school and he had skipped school to decorate the nursery. Just the memory of walking into the finished nursery with Edward covered in green paint made her laugh softly. His fingers were a little bruised from putting the crib together and he had taken all his old toys that were in his attic as well as hers, decorating the baby's room with them.

_Bella sighed as she trudged upstairs, her feet were aching from the child that was growing inside her. Pulling her hair back in a ponytail, she went to head to her room when she saw that the extra room door was closed. Walking over, she went to open it when the door opened, revealing Edward. "What are you doing here?" she said shocked._

_"I've been working on a surprise," he replied smiling._

_Pulling the door open wider. "I've been working on it since you left for school," he told her._

_"You've been here all day?" she asked, her eyes wide when she saw what was inside._

_The room was painted in a light green with pink and blue birds scattered on each wall. "This way it's a unisex room," he told her smiling, standing behind her with his arms around her disappearing waist._

_"Edward…it's…wow it's incredible," she murmured._

_Smiling, he rested his forehead against the side of her head. "This baby will have it all," he told her, resting his hands on her stomach._

_"It will," she agreed, resting her hands over his._

_Smiling, he kissed her temple softly. "I love you," he murmured._

_"I love you," she answered._

Bella looked at her son, smiling softly. "You know your daddy had everything planned out for our futures? So that way no one had regrets down the road, even though there were never going to be any regrets. How could anyone regret you?" she cooed, hugging her son close. The little boy just stared at his mother, listening to her even though not understanding her. He buried his head into her chest, letting out a long yawn.

She gently moved her hand over Eli's back as he began to drift off to sleep. "Your dad had plans to going to Dartmouth, he wanted to become a composer. I think you have his passion for music," she murmured. Looking down, she saw that he had fallen asleep and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Dream sweet dreams," she whispered, rubbing his back. While her son slept, she continued to stare up at the sky while thinking of happier times, simpler times.


	5. Surviving

Chapter 5: Surviving

Bella sat outside the school with Angela and Jessica. "So, I hear Emmett Cullen asked you out," Jessica commented.

"God this town is too small," Bella muttered, pulling a knee up to her chest.

"Well, is it true?" Jessica asked.

Biting her lower lip, she pushed her hair over her shoulder. "Yes, he asked me out," she replied.

"What did you tell him?" Jessica asked anxiously.

"I told him I wasn't ready," Bella replied honestly.

Looking over, she saw Emmett chatting with his friends. "How could you turn him down?" Jessica asked.

"Jess come on, she's not ready," Angela replied.

"But it's Emmett Cullen, the last person he ever dated was Rosalie," Jessica commented.

Bella let out a sigh. "Jessica, I'm not ready. I have no idea if I'll ever be ready to date again," she answered.

"Well, either way we should totally go to Port Angeles to pick out dresses for the Spring dance," Jessica answered.

"Want to come Bella? It'd be fun," Angela commented.

"I'm not sure, I'm not much of a shopper," Bella replied.

Angela sat beside her. "Well, you don't have to get a dress. I could really use your opinion though," she told her. Bella smiled a little.

"Sure…okay," she answered with a sigh.

"Great," Angela said smiling.

Bella smiled a little, biting her lower lip. "Mind if I bring Eli along?" she asked.

"Eli?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah…my son," Bella replied slowly, her face flushing.

Angela smiled. "I'd love to see your son," she said smiling. She has seen the pictures Bella had placed in her locker of Eli.

"Sure, why not," Jessica answered, smiling.

Bella smiled, letting out a deep breath.

Later that evening, Bella had Eli all bundled up in his little jacket, hat, and gloves. "Ready buddy?" she asked.

"Yea," he replied, waving his hands.

"Yeah? That's my big boy," Bella cooed, lifting her son up into her arms, kissing his chubby cheek.

Walking down the stairs, she saw Charlie waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Make sure you're back by ten kiddo," he told her.

"Yeah, dad I know the rules," she answered.

"Okay, just making sure. Not sure if your mom set up a curfew," he commented.

"I never go out dad and even if I did I came home to put Eli to bed," Bella answered.

"Okay, I understand," he told her.

Bella stood up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his cheek before leaving to catch up with Jessica and Angela.

Hurrying over to the car, she saw Angela standing there. "Oh! He's so adorable!" Angela said smiling. Walking over, she looked at the little boy. "Hi Eli, my name's Angela, can you say Angela?" she asked. The little boy just grinned and buried his head into his mother's shoulder.

"Um do you mind putting Eli's car seat in there?" Bella asked.

"Sure," Jessica answered.

They got into the car after his car seat was put in and drove off.

During the shopping trip, Bella was only half into it. She continued playing with her son, clapping his hands together with a smile. "Bella, what do you think?" Angela asked. Bella looked at the dresses the girls were wearing.

"They're great," she answered.

"You said that for the last five dresses though," Jessica commented.

"I think they all looked pretty good," Bella answered before making a face at her son.

"You're not really into this are you?" Angela asked.

Bella looked at her son. "Actually, I just want to head to this bookstore and pick up another book for Eli. I'll see you guys at the restaurant?" she asked.

"Sure, you can even leave Eli here if you want," Angela replied.

"Um…" Bella said slowly, she never left Eli with anyone but her parents before.

Eli wrapped his arms around his mother. "You know what it's okay. We're just going to pick up the book. We'll see you guys at the restaurant," she told them before she got up and grabbed her things.

"Okay," Angela answered as she left with her son.

When she arrived at the bookstore, Bella smiled as Eli looked around the bookstore with wide eyes. "You like this place huh?" she asked smiling as she set him down and he ran around with a smile. Walking around, she saw the book in question and pulled it off the shelf. "Hey look Eli, it's like the book dada read you," she said smiling squatting down.

"Dada," he answered.

Smiling she lifted him up into her arms again and bought the book.

Afterwards, Bella smile as she held her son's hand. "Getting big aren't you baby?" she asked as her son held onto her hand, toddling beside her. She laughed as he started jumping over the little puddles. "One…two…three weeee," she said smiling as she held her son up by his hands, lifting him over a bigger puddle.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Bella smiled when she saw the girls standing outside for them. "Hey guys," she said smiling.

"Hey Bella, hi Eli," Angela answered, cooing to the little boy.

Eli giggled before he wrapped his arms around Angela's leg. "Hey there cutie boy," Angela said smiling, lifting the giggling boy up into her arms.

"Bella you should so see my dress it's gorgeous," Jessica told her.

"I'm sure it is," Bella answered smiling.

They went inside and Bella actually enjoyed her night out.

When she arrived home, Eli was fast asleep in his car seat. Angela helped her get the car seat out before they said goodnight and Bella watched her friend's leave.

Going back inside, Bella climbed the stairs with her son in her arms. "So you won't let us see our grandson but you'll take him to see some strangers?" a voice demanded, making her jump in surprise. Looking over, she saw Elizabeth sitting on the porch.

"It's late, Mrs. Masen and I have to get Eli into his bath before I can get him into bed," she answered as she went to go inside.

Elizabeth stood up, standing in front of the door. "I want to see him," she told he young woman.

"You should've thought of that before you tried to call the police to "escort me" out of Edward's funeral," Bella answered.

"You had no right," Elizabeth hissed.

Bella glared at her. "I had a right, I was his wife," she answered as she tried to move by.

"You seduced him!" Elizabeth hissed.

"See it's comments like that, that make me not want you to see Eli," Bella answered angrily.

Bella looked at her with a glare. "I know why you're here Elizabeth and it's not for Eli," she added. She kissed her son's forehead as she pushed by the woman, going inside.

Going up to the bathroom, Bella got Eli undressed and got him into the tub. The little boy made little noises as he splashed the water, playing with his toy boats. Smiling, she kissed the top of his head before washing his hair.

After putting him in a new diaper and pajamas, she kissed his forehead as she placed him down in his crib. "Dream sweet dreams my angel," she whispered, walking over to the CD player. Biting her lower lip, she played the CD mix Edward made for her. It was filled with all the songs he wrote and played during the time they were together. This was better than any lullaby she could get off the internet. As she stood there, her mind started drifting back.

_Bella bit her lower lip as she sat in the judge's office with hers and Edward's lawyer as well as the Masens and their lawyer. "Shall we begin?" the judge asked._

_"Yes, please," Elizabeth replied._

_The judge stood up with a DVD in his hand, he placed it into the DVD player and began playing it. Edward's face appeared on the screen and it brought tears to Bella's eyes._

**_"Hi, if you haven't figured it out I'm Edward and I'm guessing if you're watching this DVD it means something has happened to me and this is my will. I have a written will that was drawn up by my lawyer as well as this video will._**

**_"First and foremost, the most important thing that I'm sure my parents are waiting to hear about is the trust fund my father put in my name and the estate my grandparents have always planned to leave me. Everything, my money, the estate, I'm giving it all to my wife, Isabella Marie Swan-Masen. The money will also go to our son Elliot Anthony Masen if Bella doesn't wish to use it for herself._**

**_"As for my son, I know my parents will protest my will in every angle they possibly can. Mother, father, you are not to touch my money. You are not allowed anywhere a custody suit to try to take Eli away. Eli is and always will be mine and Bella's son. You are not to have a say in his future, you are not to interfere in any shape or form. It has never been your place and it never will be your place._**

**_"Bella, I had hoped that we'd be old and gray when you saw this video and not now. I have loved you, always have loved you always will. Always,"_**

_Edward explained before the video went dark. Bella bit her lower lip._

_"That's it? Everything goes to her?" Elizabeth exclaimed._

_"It's going to Eli, I want to sign everything to Eli," Bella put in quickly._

_The judge nodded his head slowly at the young woman. "He can't do this to us!" Elizabeth exclaimed._

Bella opened her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. Looking over, she stroked her son's cheek gently before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his soft forehead. Biting her lower lip, she stroked his cheek once more and left the room.


	6. Pains of the Past

Chapter 6: Pains of the Past

Summer came and Bella was able to take Eli outside more than she used to. Things had begun to calm down, except the Masens still kept trying to get a hold of her.

One day, Bella was at work when she heard the door open. "Hi can I help…" she started when she saw Emmett there, "wow hi."

"Hey there Bella," Emmett greeted smiling.

"Hey," she answered.

He sat up on the counter, making her glare at him. "Emmett you're going to get me in trouble," she told him, pushing him off the counter.

"No one's here and I like this song," he commented when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, dancing with her behind the counter.

"Emmett stop I am working," she said laughing.

"You seem bored," he answered, dipping her down.

She let out a gasp when he grabbed her waist, sitting her up on the counter. Bella couldn't help but laugh, pushing her friend back. Emmett chuckled. "How are you doing pretty girl?" he asked. She blushed a little, twisting her ring around on her index finger.

"I'm doing fine today," she replied.

Smiling, Emmett kissed her cheek before helping her down. "So what are you doing this weekend?" he asked.

"It's Eli's birthday," she replied.

"Really? The little guy's turning two huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, hard to believe," she replied.

She turned around to work at the cash register. "Would you like to come?" she asked, looking at him.

"Sure, if you don't think I'd be intruding on a family moment," he commented.

"Eli likes you being around," she answered, "you're the guy figure that plays with him. Charlie tries, but you know he works a lot of the time."

"What about that other friend? Jake?" he asked.

"He comes around too but he has a girlfriend and he's working at the garage," she replied.

Emmett grinned a little. "Eli's been able to form that attachment to you," she added.

"Well don't I feel special," he quipped, making her laugh.

Bella smiled a little and looked at the clock. "I should go," she murmured.

"When's the little birthday party?" he asked.

"I'll call and let you know," she replied.

Emmett grinned before leaving.

When Bella arrived home from work, she saw Sue in the living room with Eli. "Hi buddy," she said smiling.

"Look who's here Eli," Sue said smiling.

"Momma!" the toddler said excitedly as he ran over with his arms wide open.

Smiling she caught her son up into her arms, kissing his forehead. "How'd he do today?" she asked.

"He did great," Sue replied as she walked into the kitchen.

Eli buried his head into his mother's shoulder, wrapping his arms tightly around her shoulders. Bella kissed her son's forehead, rubbing his back gently with a sigh. "So, I was asked out again," she told her father's girlfriend, leaning against the counter.

"Oh? By?" Sue asked interested.

Eli wasn't paying attention, he kept playing with the necklace around his mother's neck. "His name is James Hunter," she replied.

"So? What's he like?" Sue asked curiously.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "He's not really my type. I don't know, he watches me like I'm some sort of prey and it's kind of creepy," she replied.

"Are you going to go out with him?" Sue asked.

"No, I told him not," Bella replied.

Looking at her son, she stroked his cheek gently. "I'm not ready for that," she murmured. Sue stroked her hair with a sad smile.

"Well, maybe some good news could help you cheer up a little," the older woman commented, "your father didn't want you to see this but I thought you should see it."

Walking over, she grabbed a newspaper, showing it to her. Bella stared at the newspaper, biting her lower lip. "Murderer of Seventeen-year-old Heir to Masen Estate Sentenced to life," she read quietly. With that, her knees gave out and she slowly slid to the floor with the newspaper gripped tightly in her hand. Sue moved to her knees in front of Bella, placing her hand on her face as the tears welled up. "Nineteen-year-old Riley Biers was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted mugging turned murder of then seventeen-year-old Edward Masen, heir to the Masen Estate," Bella continued reading with tears in her eyes, "Mr. Biers plead "no contest" to the charges when Edward Masen's wallet and other personal items were presented in court."

The air was caught in her chest as her eyes continued to scan the article. She stared at the photograph of Riley in court with his lawyers beside him and the memories of that night came flooding back to her.

_Bella smiled as she held onto Edward's hand as they left the movies. "So where to next?" she asked._

_"Mm how about dancing?" he asked._

_She rolled her eyes. "I can't dance," she replied, "you know that." Edward just stared at her._

_"Hmmm…you know I could always make you," he commented._

_She scoffed a little. "I'm not scared of you," she answered. He chuckled lightly as he shook his head slowly._

_"Oh you really shouldn't have said that," he told her._

_Bella let out a shriek when he grabbed her arms, pulling her onto his back. She started laughing as he started swinging around in circles, forcing her to cling to him so she wouldn't fall off._

_Setting her down, they held hands, their wedding rings touching as they went to walk back to the car when a young man walked up. "Hey, my phone died you mind if I borrowed yours?" he asked._

_"Yeah sure," Edward replied as he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone._

_Just like that, two guys came out and forced the two of them into an alley. "Now give me everything else you have," the man in front of them ordered, pulling out a large knife from his back pocket. They started handing the guys their wallets, phones, and Edward even pulled off the Rolex his grandfather gave him._

_"Hey she's pretty boss can't we just play for a bit?" the guy to Bella's left commented, pulling him to her._

_"Hey get off her!" Edward snapped, going at the guy._

_"Hey!" the man in front of them snapped._

_Bella let out a scream as everything happened so fast. The next thing she knew, Edward had hit the ground and the guys took off running. "Edward!" Bella gasped, falling to her knees beside her husband. She saw the blood seeping through her shirt and her heart rate picked up. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" she screamed as she held him in her arms, "SOMEBODY HELP!"_

Bella opened her eyes, staring at the picture. "Edward Masen is survived by his widow, Isabella, and their young son, Elliot," she finished reading.

"Bad!" Eli told his mother, pointing to the picture of Riley.

She couldn't help but laugh, staring at her son. "Yeah, he's a bad man," she replied, stroking his cheek. She kissed his forehead tenderly. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"Mama," he answered, resting his head on her shoulder.

Bella kissed her son's forehead, hugging him closer if it were possible.

The day of her son's party, Bella was still reeling over the news report about Riley's conviction. Sue tried to talk to her about it, but Bella was too distraught to even talk about it. Except, today was her son's day. She wasn't going to ruin his birthday with her sad mood.

Bella was in the kitchen frosting her son's birthday cake when someone walked in. "Hey beautiful," Emmett greeted.

"Hi Emmett," she answered, rolling her eyes at the little at the little pet name.

Walking over, he kissed his friend's cheek and went to dip his finger into the frosting. "Hey! Out," she told him, smacking his wrist.

"I want some frosting," he insisted.

"No, you can wait," she answered.

She laughed as he started tickling her sides. "Stop, stop," she giggled like crazy, gripping his arms to get him to stop. She ended up slipping on the floor and fell, taking Emmett with her. They both landed on the floor and Bella was on top of him and they were both still laughing.

Except, they suddenly noticed that their faces were close together. Pulling away, she cleared her throat as she got off him. "Sorry," she murmured.

"Don't worry about it beautiful," he answered as he got off the floor.

Bella's face was flushed. She let out a deep breath, rubbing her hands together. "Bella…" he murmured.

"It's okay Emmett, I was just clumsy," she answered.

Nodding his head slowly, he kissed the top of her head before leaving the kitchen to play with Eli. Bella let out a shaky breath as she leaned against the counter, her heart was speeding up in her chest from the closeness followed by the guilt. She pressed her hand over her heart and let out a small sob. "What do I do? What do I do?" she whispered with a shaky voice.

Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes before she went to finish frosting the cake for Eli's birthday.


	7. Trusting Someone

Chapter 7: Trusting Someone

Bella smiled as she was sitting in the living room, reading Eli a story. The two-year-old was staring at the book with wide eyes as he kept pointing at the pictures. Looking up, she heard a knock on the door. "Here you just sit here and keep staring at the giraffes," she told her son as she placed him on the couch, giving him the book.

Walking over to the front door, she pushed her hair over her shoulder when she opened the door to reveal Jacob. "Hey Jake," she greeted.

"Hey Bells," he answered.

She let him in and Jacob smiled at Eli. "Hey Eli," he said smiling.

"Hi," Eli answered.

"He's to interested in the lions and giraffes to care," Bella told her friend, laughing.

Jacob laughed a little. "What's up?" she asked.

"Leah and I broke up," he replied.

Bella's eyes widened. "What happened?" she asked as they sat down. Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

"She got the council to agree with her to leave for college, she's going to a University in California," he replied.

"I don't get it, why did you two break up?" she asked as she pulled her knee up to her chest.

"Bella she's going to an out of state college, I'm opening my own garage," he replied.

She furrowed her brow. "Jake, did she break up with you or did you break up with her?" she asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

"We argued more than talked," he replied.

"So you two never officially broke up," she commented.

Jacob sighed, moving his fingers through his hair. "Leah's probably just as upset as you are Jake. She loves you, I know she does," she told him. Jacob let out another sigh, tilting his head back. "Jake, trust me on this ok? You love her, I know you do. You have to hold onto her, because you don't know how long you two have," she murmured. Before he could say anything, Eli ran into the room with a different book in his hands.

"Wook mama it's daddy," he told her.

Bella lifted her son up into her lap as he pointed at the picture of Edward. "Yep, it's daddy," she answered, kissing the side of his head.

"Bella, I don't know what to do," Jacob told her.

"Maybe you can go to California and open a shop there," Bella replied.

Jacob sighed. "Bella, I can't leave my dad alone," he told her.

"Then work with long distance, talk to her Jake. Sitting here talking to me isn't going to solve anything, Leah loves you," she answered.

Jacob sighed again, nodding his head slowly. "You're right. Thanks Bells," he told her. He kissed his friend's cheek and kissed the top of Eli's head before leaving.

"Your Uncle Jake is a good guy, just needs a push in the right direction," she commented, kissing the back of her son's head.

Eli just continued to stare at Edward's pictures. Bella kissed the side of her son's head, hugging him close with a small sigh.

That evening, Bella was at work when she heard the door to the store open. "We're closing in five minutes," she told the customer.

"Yeah but I think you'll make an exception for me," Emmett commented as he sat on the counter.

Bella smiled a little. "Hey Em," she answered.

"Hey, did you get your invite?" he asked.

"To?" she asked.

"My sis is throwing a graduation party for me," he replied, showing her the invitation.

Bella looked at the invitation. "Bring Eli, my folks will love him," he told her.

"Sure, we'll be there," she answered, putting the invitation into her bag that was under the counter.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes. "So, where are you going after high school?" she asked.

"I got a scholarship to the University of Seattle, for baseball," he replied.

"Wow, that's great," she commented.

"Yep," he answered.

Bella smiled a little, clearing her throat. "So what are you thinking of studying?" she asked.

"Well if this baseball thing doesn't work out, I was thinking of going for sports agent," he replied.

"That's great," she told him as she started cleaning up for closing.

Emmett was watching her, clearing his throat. "Hey Bella, how would you like to come to Port Angeles with me tonight?" he asked.

"You mean…like a date?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Well, it could just be two friends who enjoy dinner and a club," he replied.

Bella bit her lower lip. "Well, Emmett, I have Eli," she pointed out.

"Yeah? Can still have some fun. You're a mom, not dead," he answered.

Laughing, she shook her head slowly. "As much fun as that sounds Emmett, I can't," she replied. Emmett couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Can't get a babysitter?" he asked.

"No, Angela always volunteers to watch Eli," she replied.

He furrowed his brow. "Then what's stopping ya?" he asked.

"I haven't been out in a long time," she replied.

Emmett saw the pain her face and he leaned against the counter. "Bella, can I ask you something?" he asked. She glanced at him with a sigh.

"Yeah…sure," she replied.

"The day of Eli's party, I saw that your eyes were glued to the newspaper, as if you were waiting for the words to change," he told her.

She couldn't help but frown, letting out a shaky breath. "I read the article," he said softly. Swallowing hard she looked at the counter. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Yeah that would've been a great conversation to have," she answered.

Turning around, she went to count her cash register. "It's an important conversation to have," he told her.

"Emmett, it's just not a subject that needs to be brought up," she answered.

"Why?" he asked.

Looking up, she let out a deep breath. "What happened is my business, my burden to carry," she answered. She pushed her hair from her eyes. "Now if you don't mind, I have to close the store," she added. Nodding his head slowly, he walked up behind her and kissed her cheek suddenly.

"When you're ready, I'm waiting," he answered before leaving.

Watching him go, Bella leaned back against the counter with a heavy sigh. Letting out a heavy sigh, she finished closing the store before going home.

When she arrived home, Bella walked over to her son lifting him up from the floor. "Hello my baby," she cooed. She kissed his forehead softly before she sat down on the couch with her son in her arms. Smiling, she kissed the top of his head as she relaxed.

"How was work?" Charlie asked.

"It was okay," she replied.

Charlie sat down to turn on the game. "Dad," she murmured.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Can I talk to you about something?" she asked.

Charlie looked over at his daughter, setting the remote down. "Sure kiddo," he replied. Bella looked at Eli.

"Eli, why don't you go play?" she asked.

Eli nodded as he climbed off his mother's lap and went over to his toy box. Sighing, Bella pushed her hair from her eyes as she pulled her knees up to her chest. "Dad, I don't know how to handle this," she said quietly.

"Handle what?" he asked as he got up and sat beside her.

Biting her lower lip, she tugged at the roots of her hair. "The fact I'm a single mom. The fact Eli will never truly know his dad," she replied. Tears welled up in her eyes. "It's not fair," she whispered. Charlie hugged her close, rubbing her back gently. "What do I do? Dad just tell me what to do please," she begged softly. The tears began to fall as she gripped the front of his shirt. "I just wish someone would just tell me what to do instead of having me figure it out all out on my own," she told him.

"Baby why didn't you tell your mom or me sooner?" he asked.

Sniffling, she rested her head on his arm. "I already caused so much trouble for you guys. I mean, I got pregnant at sixteen, your guys' worse nightmare. The last thing I wanted was for you to sit here and tell you that I need help," she replied. Charlie hugged his daughter tight.

"Bella, you shocked us with the pregnancy. The last thing we expected was for you to get pregnant, but that doesn't mean it made us love you any less. You're our daughter and you should be able to come to us for anything," he told her.

Swallowing hard, she had tears streaming down her face. "Never be afraid to come to me for anything. I know I'm not easy to get along with or be around, but I can try harder alright? We can hang out more," he told her. Letting out a shaky sigh, she nodded her head slowly. "If there's anything I have learned in these last two years, it's never take the time you have with your kids for granted," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry I put you and mom through hell," she answered.

"Bella, what you're going through is a lot worse," he told her.

Wrapping her arms around her dad's arm, she closed her eyes. "I miss him dad, I miss him so much," she said quietly.

"I know," he answered, stroking her hair gently.

"Time was taken away from Eli and me, it's not fair," she told him.

"I know," he answered.

While she continued to rant about all her fears and anger, Charlie just held his daughter and allowed her to talk all she wanted. When she finally fell asleep, Charlie just cradled her in his arms like he used to when she was little. He stroked the hair from her face, kissing her temple and watched the game quietly while his daughter slept in his arms.


	8. Party Confessions

Chapter 8: Party Confessions

Emmett was walking down the street when he saw Bella coming out of the diner with Eli on her hip. The toddler was grinning from ear to ear with an ice cream in his hand. "Bella," he called smiling. Looking over, Bella smiled a little.

"Emmett hi," she answered.

Walking over, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Hey Eli, how's it going buddy?" Emmett asked.

"Em, Em," the toddler answered, reaching out for him.

Smiling, he took the boy into his arms, having him sit on his side. "Meet with Charlie here again?" he asked.

"Yeah," Bella replied as she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

Emmett gave her a slight grin. "So did you get my sister's party invite?" he asked, "I know it was a fancy invite, but that's how Alice works."

"Yeah I got it," she replied laughing a little.

"You going to come to the "Good Luck" party my family's throwing? I think Alice even put on the invite that Eli's invited," he commented.

"She did and I'm pondering it," she replied smiling.

"You should come," he told her.

Bella smiled a little. "Come on, bring the kid it'll be great," he insisted.

"Alright, alright I'll come," she answered.

"Great," he said grinning.

Before Bella could react, Emmett pressed a kiss to her cheek. "See you Saturday then," he told her before handing Eli to her and walking off. Bella sighed as she stroked her son's cheek.

"He's an interesting guy isn't he?" she asked.

"Yeah," Eli replied, making her laugh.

Getting her son into his car seat, she walked over to the other side of the truck and drove off.

When it came time for the party, Bella pulled up in her truck with an anxious Eli wanting to get out. Pushing her hair from her eyes, she set her son down and he ran over to Emmett. "EM! EM!" he shouted, his little arms wide open.

"Hey there buddy," Emmett answered, lifting the toddler up into his arms.

Bella smiled a little when she saw a petite young woman walking over to her. "You're Bella, hi I'm Alice," the girl said excitedly, hugging her tight.

"Hi," Bella replied awkwardly.

Alice smiled as she let her go. "Emmett's told us all about you," she commented, "I have a feeling we're going to be the best of friends." Bella laughed a little as she followed Alice to the party.

"Hey Bells, glad you came," Emmett told her.

"Yeah congrats on getting into University of Seattle," she answered.

"Thanks," he said smiling.

Bella smiled, pushing her hair from her eyes as she watched her son run around, saying 'hello' to everyone. "He seems more outgoing," he commented.

"Well since he's been hanging out with you he's one happy little toddler," Bella replied.

Emmett grinned. "Want a drink?" he asked.

"Um sure, coke please," she replied.

Walking over to the cooler, he grabbed a coke, handing it to her. "Thanks," she said smiling.

"No problem," he answered.

Sitting down, he let out a sigh as she sat beside him. "So what are you going to study?" she asked.

"Physical Therapy," he replied.

"Wow really?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied.

Bella smiled. "That's impressive," she commented.

"Yeah, been through that stuff," he replied.

"You have?" she asked.

"Yeah, football accident sophomore year. My knee touched my ear and it never used to," he replied.

Bella winced at the mental image. "Ouch," she murmured. Emmett nodded as he stretched his legs out.

"Yeah you'd think that'd put me out of football for good, but nah. Love the game too much, even though my mom's not that thrilled," she replied.

Looking over, she saw Emmett and Alice's parents talking to their guests. "Notice it too huh?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"A caramel haired woman, blond haired guy, and two dark haired kids," Emmett replied.

The young woman shrugged a little. "I'm not one to pry," she replied truthfully.

"Yeah I know, but there are some rumors that go around a little. Our last town, before we moved here. Damn was that a nightmare," he commented.

"Why is that?" she asked.

The young man rolled his piercing blue eyes. She noticed his eyes narrowing a little bit at the memory. "Before they even ask, they judged my mother. Just because we don't have the same hair color as either or our parents doesn't mean our DNA's don't match," he explained. Bella bit her lower lip as she watched the two adults laugh at something one of their friends said.

"Your parents seem like great people," she commented.

"The greatest parents a kid could ever ask for," he replied.

Bella looked over at him. "So…from what I hear you and Alice were adopted," she murmured. She jumped when his head whipped around.

"Who told you that?" he demanded.

"Um…Jessica Stanley," she replied slowly.

Emmett's fists clenched. "We are not adopted," he told her.

"I believe you," she answered, rubbing his back.

The young man let out a deep breath before looking back at her. "So what is the deal with you and Rosalie Hale? She's been sending you death glares since I've been here," she commented. Emmett glanced over his shoulder.

"Jealous ex. It was a really messy breakup," he replied.

"Sorry, I shouldn't pry," she murmured.

He simply waved his hand. "All I ask is for you to share something with me" he told her.

"Okay," she answered slowly.

Emmett watched as Eli ran around the yard, laughing and playing. "How did you react when you found out you were pregnant?" he asked. Bella looked at him surprised.

"Um…I was shocked for sure, extremely shocked. I mean, I was sixteen and I was going to be a mom," she replied.

"Did you ever think about an abortion?" he asked.

Bella's eyes grew wide at his question. "No way, never. I mean, yea I was young and everything, but I wasn't going to punish my baby for my decisions," she replied. She smiled as she watched Eli sit down on the grass eating a hotdog Alice had made up for him. "Besides, Eli's my whole world and I can't imagine my life without him," she added. Looking over, she saw that Emmett's eyes were a little glazed over. "Em, you okay?" she asked.

Emmett let out a deep breath, rubbing his hands together. "I'm in the bit of a dilemma Bells," he replied quietly.

"Why, what's wrong?" she asked.

"There's another reason why Rosalie is so pissed at me. She came over to my house yesterday, she was actually being civil which was nice. Well, during our conversation, my phone went off. It was from this girl from Port Angeles, I saw her only a couple of times and my senior year this year has been such a blur you could tell me I met the President yesterday and I didn't remember," he replied.

Leaning forward, she just listened to him intently. "Well, this girl calls and Rosalie answers. According to Rosalie and this girl, I'm gonna be a dad," he murmured. Bella's eyes widened at his words.

"Wow, how do you feel about that?" she asked.

"I don't know, I mean, don't even know 100% if it's mine because I don't even remember sleeping with her," he told her, "I met a lot of people which made this year a blur. Didn't sleep with a lot of women I'm a one woman kind of guy."

Biting her lower lip, she dragged her fingers through her hair. She couldn't help but feel a small tug at her heart at his words. "I don't remember, either I was that much of a partier and I seriously don't remember doing that, or she's lying," he replied.

"What did she say?" Bella asked.

Sighing, he put his head in his hands. "She wants to get an abortion, said she has no room in her life for a kid," he replied. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth at his words.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Try to stop her, because if it is mine I'll at least take it," he replied, "even if it's not mine I'll stay take it if the real dad doesn't stand up."

Bella rubbed his arm gently. "I'm here if you need me, Emmett," she murmured. Emmett smiled slightly, holding her hand in his.

"Thanks," he answered.

It was then she noticed that their faces were once again close together. Closing her eyes, she felt him lean in a little closer. "MAMA!" Eli shouted, forcing them apart. Flushing, she bit her lower lip as she got up to see what her son needed. Letting out a sigh, Emmett ran his hand through his hair before getting up to talk to his parents.

Bella smiled as she sat beside her son. "Whatcha doin kiddo?" she asked. The toddler sat in her lap, resting his head on her chest. Smiling, she rubbed his back gently.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wike Emmett mama," he replied.

Smiling, she kissed his forehead softly. "I'm glad," she murmured.

Emmett was talking with his mother, who was smiling softly at him. "Emmett, you seem happier sweetheart," Esme commented.

"Met a great girl," he replied.

Smiling, she touched his cheek softly. "That Bella girl?" she asked. Emmett nodded his head slowly.

"I'm waiting for her mom. She's just everything I could ever look for in a girl," he replied.

Esme nodded her head with a sigh. "Have you talked to Joanna?" she asked.

"Yep, tomorrow I'm going to the clinic to stop her," he replied.

Smiling sadly, she kissed her son's cheek. "We're here for you sweetheart," she said quietly. Nodding his head slowly, he sat down again as he enjoyed the party, but he was also watching Bella and Eli.


	9. Shoulder to lean on

Chapter 9: Shoulder to Lean On

Bella was working when Emmett walked in. "Hey," she said smiling.

"Hey," he answered.

He tapped his fingers on the counter. "I need a favor," he told her.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Can you get me to the clinic? My car battery's dead," he replied.

"What's going on?" Bella asked as she looked over at Mrs. Newton who nodded.

Bella grabbed her bag to leave the store with Emmett. "I need to stop Joanna from getting rid of a kid that might be mine," he replied.

When they got to the clinic, Emmett walked in to find the girl in question sitting on a chair. "Joanna, have you lost your damn mind?" he demanded.

"It's my body," Joanne replied simply.

"It's a baby!" Emmett exclaimed.

"It's a dot," she replied.

Emmett reached into his pocket, handing her something. "Legally, you can't do a damn thing," he told her.

"What is this?" Joanna exclaimed, standing up.  
>"A court order that I have parental rights," he told her.<p>

Her grey eyes grew wide in shock. "Hot off the press, you can't have an abortion because as the father of that kid I have rights too," he added. Joanna glared, flicking her black hair over her shoulder.

"What you're forcing me to carry this kid?" she demanded.

"It's mine too," he replied.

Joanna huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and stormed out of the clinic. Emmett couldn't help but feel like he had won a huge battle. Bella smiled, rubbing his back. "Thanks for racing me here Bells," he told her.

"Yeah, no problem," she replied as they left the clinic.

Sighing, he rubbed his hands together. "Well, I guess I have to get home and start planning the baby's room," he commented.

"I'll help," she answered smiling.

"Thanks," he answered smiling.

Bella smiled as they walked back over to her truck.

Two days later, Bella arrived at the Cullen house with Eli in tow. The toddler had a hold of his mother's pant leg with his thumb in his mouth. Knocking on the door, she smiled when Esme opened. "Hi Mrs. Cullen, is Emmett home?" she asked.

"Yes, yes he's upstairs working on the baby's room," Esme replied smiling.

Smiling back, Bella walked in while lifting Eli up into her arms. "Em, Em," the boy said around his thumb.

"Yep, we're seeing Emmett," Bella replied as she climbed the stairs.

Walking over to one of the spare rooms, she saw Emmett standing on a ladder painting. "This yellow is a bit bright don't you think?" she asked as she set Eli down.

"Yeah mom said that too," Emmett replied as he climbed down the ladder.

Laughing, she shook her head slowly. "I might end up changing it, I mean I have seven months," he commented.

"Plenty of time," she answered.

Walking over to her friend, she held up a bag. "Here, got this for you, well actually it's for the baby," she told him.

"You didn't have to do that," he told her.

Taking the bag, he pulled out a light green teddy bear. "It's unisex so it can go in the baby's room whether it's a boy or a girl," she commented.

"It's great thanks," he answered before putting the bear back in the bag.

She noticed that he seemed trouble. "What's wrong?" she asked. Letting out a sigh, Emmett rubbed the back of his neck.

"Something bothers me about this whole thing," he told her as he sat on the ladder.

"What's that?" she asked as she pulled up a stool to sit on.

"Honest to God, Bells, I don't remember ever sleeping with Joanna," he replied.

Bella stared at him, tapping her chin. "You think she's lying?" she asked.

"If the kid wasn't mine she would've laughed in my face when I handed her the court order," he replied.

The young woman pulled her knee up to her chest. "So…do you have any theories?" she asked. Emmett shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe I partied too much one night. I have no idea," he replied.

The young man rubbed his temples with a heavy sigh. "A lot of thoughts are going through my head," he told her.

"What's that?" she asked.

Walking over, she rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'm confused on how this happened when I don't even remember anything. I'm also terrified because what if I'm a really bad dad?" he asked.

"Impossible, you're great with Eli," she replied.

"I'm great with other people's kids. It doesn't mean I'd be a good dad," he told her.

"I don't think that's true," she replied.

Bella hugged her friend tight around his torso. "You're a great guy. This kid is going to be the luckiest kid on the world to have a dad like you in his or hers life," she murmured. Emmett sighed as he rested his hands over hers, moving his thumbs in circles over her arm.

"I don't know," he said softly.

"It's okay to be scared, Em. You're a young guy going to be a dad. Edward was the same thing when I told him I was pregnant," she answered quietly as she let him go.

Emmett watched as she sat back down on the stool. "How did Edward take it?" he asked curiously. Bella bit her lower lip at the memory.

"He was shocked, I thought at first he had a stroke because he was quiet for so long. Then what startled me the most was when he suddenly dropped to one knee and proposed," she replied.

The young man couldn't help but laugh as she blushed at the memory. "What did you say?" he asked.

"I told him I didn't want him proposing because I was pregnant," she replied.

Emmett nodded his head slowly. "Sounds like something you would say," he commented. She smiled a little, letting out a sad sigh.

"I miss him, every day," she said quietly.

"I'm sure you do," he murmured.

Bella bit her lower lip as she sat in silence with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry," Emmett whispered, hugging her. She hugged him back, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm here for you Bells," he told her.

"I'm here for you too, Em," she answered.

Emmett rested his forehead against the side of her head as they stood in silence, hugging each other.

**Author's Note: sorry the next update will be delayed because I have a family reunion. Please review! Thank you everybody for loving this story so far!**

**Arwennicole**


	10. Closer and Closer

Chapter 10: Closer and Closer

The days passed and they turned into months. Soon, Bella was watching as Emmett became more and more anxious with the child's arrival. He would try to go see ultrasounds, but the doctors wouldn't let him in on Joanna's request.

When Emmett went to the hospital with Bella to try again to see Joanna's ultrasound. However, before he could enter the room, the doctor walked out. "Sir, can I please be in there?" Emmett asked. The doctor let out a sigh.

"Mr. Cullen, Miss Ashton has told me to tell you that the court papers said that she had to give birth to the baby, but they didn't say have you in the room with her," he explained.

Bella bit her lower lip as she rested her hand on Emmett's arm. The doctor held his hand out to shake Emmett's. "I am sorry sir," he told the young man. Emmett nodded his head slowly, shaking his hand when he felt the doctor slip something into. The doctor went back into the room and Emmett saw that it was a folded picture. Opening it up, he collapsed into a nearby chair.

Bella saw the tears well up in Emmett's eyes as he looked at the picture. "Em?" she said softly, sitting beside him.

"My daughter, I'm having a daughter," he answered.

He touched the picture with a huge smile on his face. "I'm having a baby girl," he whispered.

"How wonderful," Bella answered, touching her friend's shoulder.

Emmett let out a deep breath before he got up and left the hospital.

A few days later, Emmett was in the park jogging when he saw a heavily pregnant Joanna sitting on a park bench. "Joanna?" he called.

"What?" Joanna asked looking up.

"How are you? How's the baby?" he asked.

"Fine," Joanna replied.

She read the book, not wanting to pay attention to the child tossing and turning inside her. "Um…can I feel the baby?" he asked.

"Why?" Joanna asked.

"I mean…if you're going to be giving the baby over to me, can I at least feel the baby and make a connection to it?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter," Joanna replied.

Emmett sighed silently, placing his hand on Joanna's stomach. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Joanna roll her eyes, but he refused to let it bother him. When he felt his child kick against his hand, he smiled. "Hey there, this is your daddy talking. Can't wait to see you," he said smiling.

"It can't hear you," Joanna told him jadedly.

Emmett frowned. "I'll see you in the delivery room," he told her.

"You're not going to be in there," she answered.

"You won't even let me be there when the baby's born?" he asked.

"Why?" she answered yawning as if she were extremely bored.

His piercing blue eyes widened in disbelief. "It's my child too, Joanna. How can you not let me be there when the baby's born?" he asked.

"Why should I have to?" she answered.

"I do have the right," he told her.

She shook her head slowly. "I don't need you in there," she told him.

"No, but that baby will need someone to hold and love it since you obviously won't," he answered.

"It's just a poop-filled annoyance," Joanna told him.

"It's a child that never asked to be created," Emmett answered.

Joanna got up, slamming the book closed. "If it means that much to you then come in," she told him before stalking off. Emmett stood there feeling anger bubble up in his veins. Letting out a shout, his fist connected to the nearest tree.

When he was heading back to his car, he didn't see Bella walk up. "Emmett!" Bella called. As she walked over to him, her eyes widened when she saw that his knuckles were bleeding. "What happened?" she exclaimed.

"I guess your clumsiness is becoming contagious," he quipped with a half-smirk.

Bella shook her head slowly. "You saw Joanna didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes," he muttered sitting in his car, "she agreed to let me in the delivery room but only after I argued and practically begged."

"But at least you're going to see your baby and be able to hold her when she's born," Bella answered as she sat in the passenger's seat.

Emmett nodded his head slowly. "This isn't how I pictured welcoming my first child into the world, Bells. I expected that moment to be happy and wonderful. Hell I'm not a mushy guy, but come on. I at least would want the mother of my child to be as happy as I am," he explained. Bella smiled sadly as she gently rubbed his arm comfortingly. Letting out a sigh, Emmett hugged her close to him. Sighing, she rested her head on his chest.

A few weeks later, Emmett was at work being an assistant coach for the football team when his cell phone went off. Looking at his phone, he saw that it was Joanna. It was only a text that said:

If u want 2 c ur kid come now

Emmett looked over at the coach. "Hey coach I have to go," he told him quickly before running off the field.

When he arrived at the hospital, Emmett went down the hall where Joanna's sister was waiting. "In there," she told him, not looking up from her magazine.

Walking into the delivery room, he saw that Joanna was further along in her labor than he thought. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he demanded.

"Didn't say you were going to be here during the whole labor process," Joanna answered through gritted teeth.

Emmett looked at the doctor. "She's ready to push," the doctor told him. Standing beside the bed, he watched as Joanna started pushing.

After it about ten minutes, Joanna let out a scream but then a baby's screams and wails filled the room. "It's a girl," the doctor announced. Smiling through his tears, Emmett took his daughter into his arms.

"Hey baby girl," he whispered, stroking her cheek gently.

The baby immediately stopped squalling, snuggling up to his chest. "Joanna do you want to see her?" he asked, looking at her.

"I didn't even want her why would I want to look at her?" she asked.

"She's your daughter too, you carried her for nine months. Don't you feel anything for her at all?" he asked.

Joanna just shrugged and closed her eyes to rest. Emmett sighed as he looked at the infant. She was fast asleep now, her tiny hands curled up by her face. "She needs a name" the nurse said softly. Emmett smiled as he looked at the baby in his arms.

"Dana Esme Cullen," he told the nurse.

The nurse smiled as she wrote the name down on the birth certificate and they left the new father alone with his daughter.

Emmett sat down with his daughter in his arms. "You know what Dana? You're the most beautiful baby girl in the world you know that?" he said softly, stroking her cheek.

"If you're going to talk to that brat could you do it somewhere else? I'm trying to sleep," Joanna told him.

Emmett rolled his eyes as he got up and left the room.

Walking out, he saw Bella walking over. "Oh Emmett, she's beautiful," she said smiling. Emmett was grinning from ear to ear as he showed his friend the newborn. "Hello there beautiful," she murmured, stroking the newborn's cheek, "what's her name?"

"Dana Esme," he replied.

Bella smiled as she held the little girl's hand. "Congratulations," she murmured.

"Thanks," he answered.

Emmett hugged his friend with his free arm while the two of them looked at the baby in his arms.


	11. Revelation

Chapter 11: Revelation

Emmett sighed as he woke up during the night to a screaming Dana. Getting up from his bed, he trudged down the hall and into the nursery. Walking over to the crib, he lifted his daughter up into his arms. "What's the matter beautiful?" he asked, kissing his daughter's curly brown hair, "daddy just changed you."

Walking down the stairs, he kept his daughter in the crook of his arm. "So I guess you're like your dad in that category. Eat, eat, eat," he quipped. The baby kept whimpering, her tiny hands clenching and unclenching as she opened her piercing blue eyes. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a bottle of formula and began to eat it up.

It might be three in the morning, but Emmett did enjoy getting up to spend time with his baby girl. Quietly, he made his way over to the radio on the counter, turning it down low as he turned it on. Smiling, he heard one of his favorite songs, he began swaying back and forth. "Whatcha doin baby girl?" he cooed as Dana was reaching up for the cross around his neck. Smiling, he stroked her soft cheek lightly.

"Your dad used to do that," a voice commented, making him look up.

Smiling, he saw his mother standing there. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Oh yes, I remember one time I walked in on your dad swaying around in the kitchen to Frank Sinatra," she commented.

Emmett laughed a little. "She's perfect mom," he murmured. Esme smiled as she kissed the top of the baby's head.

"She is," she agreed smiling.

She touched her son's face before leaving him alone. Emmett smiled as he touched his daughter's cheek before he started feeding her.

The next day, Emmett was sitting in the park when Bella showed up with Eli. "Baby! Baby!" Eli said excitedly. Emmett laughed as the boy crawled up on the bench to look at Dana.

"Careful buddy I just finally got her to go to sleep," he answered.

Bella smiled as she sat down on the bench. "How's fatherhood treating you?" she asked.

"Good, loving it," he replied.

Smiling, she dragged her fingers through her hair. "So…have you done a lot of thinking?" she asked.

"About?" he asked.

Dana made a little noise as she curled up against his chest. "You said that you might get a DNA test done since you couldn't remember sleeping with Joanna," she pointed out. Sitting in silence, Emmett looked at the baby girl in his arms.

"I thought about it, but I don't know if I want to now," he murmured.

Bella bit her lower lip as she crossed her legs while Eli ran off to play. "Stay where I can see you baby," she told her son.

"Yes mommy," Eli replied as he sat in the sandbox.

Looking at her friend, she leaned against her hand. "What made you change your mind about getting a DNA test done?" she asked. Emmett sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"It'd tear me apart if she's not mine. I mean, I'd rather live in the shadows about her DNA," he replied.

He held his daughter's hand between his thumb and index finger. "Ever since I brought her home from the hospital two weeks ago, Bella, my dad has offered to do a DNA test on her. I mean, he could get it back faster than any other patient. I've pondered it, mulled it over, but I can't do it. I love this baby girl. If I find out that she wasn't mine, I'd be crushed," he explained.

"I understand," she answered, rubbing his arm.

Letting out a sigh, Emmett kissed Dana's forehead. "Here, you hold her," he told her.

"What?" she asked.

"Come on just for a second," he said smiling.

Smiling, she took Dana into her arms and Emmett took out his camera. "Smile," he told her. Bella looked at the camera with a small smile and he snapped a picture. "Perfect," he added.

"I don't take good pictures," she answered.

"You kidding, you could be a model here," he told her.

Bella laughed, looking at the picture. "Sure I do," she answered, "I hear black circles under the eyes are the "it" thing." Chuckling, he held her hand in his.

"You're always beautiful to me," he answered.

Blushing, she looked at the baby in her arms again. This oddly felt very right. Her and Emmett sitting on a park bench, her holding a baby in her arms while Eli was playing in the sandbox. If anyone saw, they would think it was the perfect family right there. Shaking her head slowly, she let out a sigh. "Have you regained any memory of sleeping with Joanna though?" she asked, placing the baby back into his arms.

"Nada, but I don't care," he replied.

He kissed Dana's forehead again as the baby wriggled a little bit to get back comfortable. "It's just odd," he added.

"I'm sure," she agreed.

Emmett let out a sigh as he sat back, closing his eyes as he relaxed with his daughter in his arms. Smiling, Bella took his camera and took a picture. "Taking pictures now?" he asked.

"Yep," she replied.

Emmett laughed a little before opening his eyes to look at his daughter again. "Tired?" she asked.

"You have no idea," he replied.

"Mmm I think I know," she told him.

Emmett grinned a little. "Here, my dad's at work. How about I watch Dana and you can get some sleep?" she suggested.

"Sure," he replied.

"Eli come on we're leaving," she told him.

Eli stood up and they left the park.

When they got back to the Swan House, Bella placed Dana into the bassinet she kept in the living room just in case Emmett visited. "Wake me in an hour," he told her.

"Will do," she answered.

Emmett grinned before he went upstairs.

Taking off his boots, he collapsed down on Bella's bed. Resting his arm over his eyes, he let out a deep breath before sleep claimed him. As he slept however, weird dreams began to fill his mind.

_He recognized where he was at, he was at a party. The music was loud, there was smoke everywhere from the kids that were smoke. He felt a little dizzy after having too much to drink of the spiked punch. "Yo Tucker, I'm gonna head upstairs man," he told his friend._

_"Sure thing Emmett," Tucker answered._

_Emmett stumbled up the stairs and found an empty room. Letting out a deep breath, he collapsed down on the breath in hopes his head would stop swimming. Reaching for his phone, he went to find his mother's numbers, but he started seeing double. "What the hell?" he muttered as his fingers fumbled with the phone. His fingers began to feel heavy as his hand dropped to the bed. His eyes began to droop when someone stood over him._

_"Emmett," a voice whispered, followed by a giggle._

_He felt a hand go from his chest to his jeans._

Sitting up in bed with a gasp, realized his face was sticky with sweat. Looking at his hands, he noticed that they were shaking. "What the hell was that?" he muttered. Hearing the door open, he looked over to see Bella standing there.

"Oh you're up," she commented.

Before she could ask how his snooze went, she saw that he had sweat through his t-shirt. "Emmett, are you okay?" she asked. Walking over, she rested her hand to his forehead. "Are you getting sick?" she asked.

"No…just…a weird ass dream," he replied.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he let out a deep breath. "Well…do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Emmett was silent as he tried to think of what he dreamt about. "Em?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh sorry Bells, no I'm okay really," he assured her.

"You sure?" she asked.

Nodding his head slowly, he stood up with shaky knees. "I should probably get Dana and go," he told her.

"Can you drive okay?" she asked, worried about him.  
>"Yeah," he replied.<p>

Bella held his hand. "Emmett…" she murmured. Noticing that her friend was disoriented, she held onto him. "Come on Em what happened in this dream? You're acting all freaked out," she told him.

"Bells, I just need to get home," he answered.

Nodding her head slowly, she went to kiss his cheek when he turned his head and their lips touched. Bella was shocked, but oddly enough, she didn't jerk back. Their accidental kiss lasted for about a few seconds before pulling away. "I'll be alright," he whispered. Touching her cheek, he pulled on his boots and went downstairs to get Dana.

Walking into the living room, he took his daughter into his arms and left the Swan house without a second glance.

Instead of going to his jeep, Emmett decided to take a walk through the forest, a shortcut to his house.

As he made his way down the trail, the only sounds he could hear were birds singing and his boots crunching the twigs and branches on the ground. "Daddy's a little confused Dana," he told his sleeping daughter. He sat down on a log with the baby in his arms. Resting her on his legs, he held her tiny hands in his. "I wish I understood what was happening to me. I can't sleep Dana baby," he told his daughter as if she could understand.

Letting out a shaky breath, he looked around as he tried to get his mind to clear up again. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes tight. As he stood up, his head started swimming with more images.

_He could hear laughter and he tried to sit up. "Tie his arms down so he can't ruin my fun," the voice told someone. He felt his wrists being tied to the headboard, but he still kept trying to struggle. His arms felt like cement blocks as well as his legs. "I like this, a little bit of a reaction," the voice commented._

_Opening his eyes, everything was blurry, but he struggled with images. He couldn't see their faces, they were too blurred. "All Emmy pooh waking up?" the person mocked, touching his face._

Emmett opened his eyes and before he knew it, he was back at the Swan house. He didn't even remember walking back, but there he was, standing in front of the porch with his daughter in his arms. Bella came out, seeing a very disoriented Emmett standing there. "Emmett…are you okay?" she asked.

"I think…I think I know how I became a dad," he replied, "Dana's mine and I know how it happened."

Bella gestured for him to come inside and she took Dana when she noticed that he was shaking. "That stupid bitch! I should just take her toothpick neck and snap it!" he snapped.

"Emmett, what's going on?" she asked.

Bella jumped back when his fist connected to the wall. "What wong wif Em?" Eli asked.

"Emmett's upset sweetheart, just go upstairs," Bella replied.

Eli ran upstairs and Bella placed Dana into her bassinet again. Noticing that his back was tensed, she touched his shoulder. Looking at her, he slid to the floor. "Emmett, what's wrong? What happened?" she asked as she kneeled in front of him.

"I know how I became a dad. No wonder why I couldn't remember," he whispered.

"What?" she asked.

He looked at her, his blue eyes locking with her brown eyes. "I had been drugged and raped," he told her. Bella's eyes widened in shock.


	12. An Unexplained Nightmare

Chapter 12: An Unexplained Nightmare

Bella's eyes grew wide. "Are you sure?" she asked. He was nodding his head as he put his head in his hands.

"The bitch drugged me, I knew that punch was too damn strong to being spiked. I've had spiked punch before, but never did it make me immobile," he told her as he stood up from the floor.

Bella placed her hands on his back. He was starting to pace back and forth in the hallway like a caged lion. "Emmett, calm down," she told him.

"Calm down? I just found out some bitch drugged me and then forced me to sleep with her!" he exclaimed.

"Emmett please, Eli," she whispered, holding onto his arms.

Emmett glanced up the stairs to Bella's room and let out a shaky breath. "Should we talk to my dad? He could help," she told him.

"Your dad's not gonna be able to help Bella," he replied.

"Why?" she asked.

"Proof Bella, I need proof. This is a year after the party, there's no way in Hell I can prove that she raped me," he replied.

Bella watched as he leaned against the wall. She watched as every emotion she could ever imagine began dancing across his face. "I need to find Joanna," he told her.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, going after him.

"Talk to her," he answered.

Bella shook her head slowly, pulling his keys from his hands. "Bella, give me my keys," he told her.

"No, you're not thinking straight. If you go after Joanna now you're going to do something you'll regret," she answered.

"Why the hell not? The woman raped me," he told her.

"I know, but let's go inside and figure out a way to prove this," she answered.

"Don't you get it Bella? We won't be able to prove it!" he exclaimed.

He went to grab her keys when Bella took his keys, throwing them in the street. Before he could go after them, she stood in front of him. "Emmett, don't, you'll regret this, you really will. If you don't stop for me, then at least for Dana! If you do something you'll leave her without a dad," she told him, pushing her hands against his chest. She gripped the front of his t-shirt. "Dana needs you Emmett," she insisted.

Emmett stopped fighting against her and saw the fear in Bella's eyes. "I need you to stay with me, please," she answered. She kept a grip on his shirt. "You're too important in my life, please, please don't go after Joanna. At least not while you're not thinking straight, please," she insisted. Sighing, Emmett backed up.

"Fine," he muttered.

She touched his face before they went back inside to talk after she grabbed his keys from the street.

As they were sitting in the living room, Emmett was staring at his sleeping daughter. "How can something so beautiful come from something so horrid?" he asked.

"I think a lot of rape victims who keep their children ask themselves the same question," she replied.

Sighing, he bounced his knee. "If I knew I was raped…" he started.

"Would you have stopped Joanna from getting the abortion?" she asked.

"What? No way, of course I would. I'd just be getting her hands in cuffs faster than she could blink though," he replied.

Biting her lower lip, she rested her hand on his knee. "You don't hear this, Bella. You don't hear about girls that rape guys, you just don't. The whole thing…everything about it, it's not natural," he muttered. She shook her head slowly.

"No, it's not," she agreed.

"How can someone be so cruel to do that to another person? What goes through that person's head to do that?" he asked.

Bella shook her head slowly. "I wish I knew, Em," she said softly. Feeling his chest tighten up, he closed his eyes tight.

"Why me?" he asked.

Reaching over, she hugged him tight. "Why me Bella?" he asked.

"Joanna's a disgusting, sick person," she replied, rubbing his back, "it's just a shame that she chose you as her next victim."

Emmett shook his head. "First of all Bells, that's not going to start," he told her standing up.

"What?" she asked.

"Calling me a victim, that's not what I am," he replied, "make me sound weak and worthless."

She nodded her head slowly in understanding. "You should talk to your dad at least, or your mom," she told him.

"How can I look my parents in the eye and tell them that I was drugged and raped? How can I tell them that the granddaughter they love and adore was a product of such a disgusting act?" he asked.

Bella stood up, resting her hand on his arm. "They'll still love her, because it's not Dana's fault that this happened to you," she replied. Emmett was silent as he again lowered his head. Feeling a lump form in her throat, he rested her forehead against his back. "Your parents won't love you less," she said softly.

"This isn't supposed to happen to people like me. I've never done anything to anybody," he muttered.

Pulling out of her embrace, he walked over to Dana's crib and picked her up. "I have to go, talk to you later Bells," he told her before leaving.

Walking over to his car, he strapped Dana into her carrier/car seat before he got into the driver's seat and drove off.

When he arrived home, he got Dana out of the car and walked up the steps to the house. "Mom, I'm home," he called out.

"Hi sweetheart," Esme answered.

Walking out of the kitchen, Esme smiled softly. "How was your little outing with Dana?" she asked smiling.

"Good, it was good," he replied.

Smiling, Esme rested her hand on his cheek. "Supper's almost ready, made your favorite," she told him.

"Great," he answered.

Placing the carrier on the coffee table, he got Dana out of the contraption, holding her close. "I'm going to put her upstairs to bed mom. She's been fed and changed," he told her.

"Alright sweetheart," Esme answered.

Walking up the stairs, Emmett went into the nursery, placing his daughter into the crib. "Night my baby girl, daddy loves you," he whispered, kissing his daughter's forehead. Turning on the mobile, he stared at the moons and unicorns that spun around his daughter's head.

Leaning against the rail, he felt every emotion he had bottled up start to break through. Swallowing hard, he put his head in his hands as he tried to keep his composure. His shoulders shook a little as small sobs started to gain control of him.

With his knees growing weak from all the emotion and shock, he sat down on the floor of the nursery with his head in his hands. "My god, my god," he muttered to himself brokenly. He was not the type of man to cry, no one could ever make Emmett Cullen cry. When he was a kid, he was the tough guy, he made other kids cry. Except, this was different. This wasn't like a little brawl out on the playground of the monkey bars or something.

Someone maliciously violated him to gain their own pleasure. He felt so violated, he never though he could feel so out of place in life now. "How can I defend my daughter, when I can't even defend myself?" he muttered into his hands.

"Emmett, supper's ready honey," Esme called up the stairs.

"Coming mom," he answered.

Angrily wiping the tears away, he cleared his throat as he got up and went downstairs.

Dinner was quiet, which surprised Carlisle and Esme. Usually Emmett was cracking jokes or just being his loud self. "You alright son?" Carlisle asked. The oldest Cullen raised his head.

"What?" he asked after swallowing.

"You alright? You've been quiet all night," Esme commented.

"Oh…yeah…yeah I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind," he replied.

Esme leaned across the table, resting her hand on his. "Want to talk about it sweetheart?" she asked. Emmett cleared his throat.

"No, I'm okay mom," he replied.

Smiling a little, he got up from the table and went upstairs to sit in the nursery again.

The next day, Emmett was at work, working at the local grocery store. Since being a father, he took up two part-time jobs to take care of her. Letting out a sigh, he was stocking some food when an old classmate, Tina, walked up. "Hi Emmett," she greeted.

"Hi," he answered.

Tina smiled flirtingly as she leaned against the wall. "How's work treating ya?" she asked.

"Fine," he replied, "look Tina I can't really talk I have a lot to do."

Not knowing that Bella had turned the corner, Tina just continued to smile. "Well if you ever want to have some fun, let me know," she told him.

Bella watched as her manicured nails went down Emmett's wrist and arm making him freeze. "Emmett?" she called, walking over to him. Emmett just watched Tina walked away before he began to shudder.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, shaking his hands as if they were on fire.

Bella grabbed onto his hands. "It's okay," she told him. Letting out a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

"Shit, shit," he muttered.

Smiling comfortingly, she rubbed his wrists. "Need to talk?" she asked softly. She watched as he shook his head slowly.

"I'll handle this Bells," he told her.

"You sure?" she asked.

He nodded his head slowly with a slight smile. "With you right there reassuring me, I know I'll be fine," he replied. Smiling, Bella pressed her lips to his cheek. What surprised her was when Emmett placed his hand in the middle of her back, kissing her gently. She kissed him back, resting her hand on his cheek.

"Call me if you need anything okay?" she asked.

Emmett nodded his head slowly. "I'll let you know," he replied. Nodding, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before she walked away. All she could do was hope that Emmett would take up on the offer that she could help him. One thing was for sure, she was going to prove that Joanna did this so she would stop stalking other good guys like Emmett. She was going to do whatever it took to protect him just like he was doing everything he could to protect her.


	13. Giving it a Try

Chapter 13: Giving it a Try

Four months passed since Emmett realized what had happened to him. Instead of dealing with it, he threw himself into his two jobs and caring for his daughter. As the days passed, however, Emmett's attitude changed.

The first thing he did was shock his family when he told them he wasn't going to school. Instead, he was going to continue working as the assistant coach at the high school and the grocery store. The news devastated Bella, because she knew Emmett's only reason for not going.

One day, Bella was walking out of the store when she saw Emmett walking out of the grocery store. "Emmett," she called.

"Hey Bella," Emmett answered.

Bella walked over to him. "Why are you not going to school? You worked so hard," she told him.

"I need to be with Dana, she needs me," he answered.

Her brown eyes grew darker at his words. "Don't use Dana as your shield for dropping out of school. You had it all figured out," she told him. Emmett glanced at her as he pulled out his keys.

"I have to go," he answered.

She grabbed a hold of his hand. "Emmett, you're not going because of Joanna aren't you?" she asked. The large, young man was silent as he stared at the driver's seat of his jeep. "Emmett?" she said softly.

"Bella, just leave it alone, please," he answered.

"I'm right," she whispered.

He looked over at her with a heavy sigh. "It's not just Joanna, Bells, I felt other women's hands on me. They were touching me, groping me. Hell I wouldn't mind it, but the fact I was violated for it just makes me sick," he told her as he sat in his jeep.

"So you're running away?" she asked.

Shaking his head slowly, he let out a sigh. "I just need to know what to do," he said softly. Bella bit her lower lip as she sat beside him.

"I'm here, Emmett. You know I am," she answered quietly.

Emmett reached over, holding her hand in his. "How did I get so lucky to meeting you?" he asked quietly.

"You saw me more than just a single mom," she replied.

She rest her head on her hand as she smiled at him. Emmett smiled as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. Bella was still for a second, but then she started kissing him back. Reaching up, he rested his hand on the side of her neck. Their kiss grew a little deeper, but then she pulled away. "Um…I should go," she said softly.

"Bella," he murmured, holding her hand.

Looking at their clasped hands, she looked up into his eyes. "Would you please go out on a date with me?" he asked. She saw the longing and desire in his eyes at the words. She also saw a wounded man needing someone to care for him. Smiling softly, she touched his cheek lightly.

"Name the time and place," she said quietly.

Smiling, he kissed her once more. "Friday at seven," he answered, "meet me by the store."

"Sounds like a date," she said smiling.

Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, she got up and left. Emmett watched her go with a sigh and went to start up his car. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Emmett Cullen," a voice commented. Feeling his skin crawl, he saw Joanna staring at him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I came to see you," she replied.

She dragged her fingers down his cheek. "I think we've seen enough of each other," he told her, pulling away.

"Aw come on Emmy Pooh," she cooed.

Emmett gripped the steering wheel at her words.

_"Ooh Emmy Pooh's waking up," Joanna cooed. He could feel three pairs of hands touching all over his arms and chest. He felt her lips on his neck. "Get ready for the ride of your life handsome," she purred into his ear._

Opening his eyes, Emmett looked at Joanna. "Gotta go," he told her as he started up his jeep. Joanna grinned as she backed up and let Emmett drive off.

"You can run but you can't hide," she commented.

At the Swan house, Bella walked in to find Eli watching baseball in Charlie's lap. "Dad are you brainwashing my son?" she asked.

"Hey, kid could use some sports," he answered.

Smiling, she kissed her father's cheek before lifting her son up into her arms. "Have you two eaten?" she asked.

"Pasghetti," Eli replied.

"Dad you cooked?" Bella asked with wide eyes.

Charlie laughed a little. "Actually Sue Clearwater sent some over," he replied. Bella sat down in a chair.

"Sue Clearwater huh?" she asked with a grin.

"Yep," he replied.

Bella smiled as she kissed the side of her son's head. "How was work?" Charlie asked.

"The same," she replied, "I have a date Friday can you watch Eli?"

Charlie's eyes widened at her words. "Really? Who is it?" he asked. Biting her lower lip, she smiled a little bit.

"Emmett Cullen," she replied.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "He's a little old for you isn't he?" he asked.

"He's just a year older, dad," she replied.

He stared at her quizzically. "Dad, just trust me alright? Emmett's a good guy," she told him.

"I don't know Bella," he answered.

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Dad, just because I'm going on a date doesn't mean I'm going to come back pregnant again," she told him.

"Mama what pwegant?" Eli asked.

"Mama will tell you later, why don't you go play?" Bella asked.

Eli got off his mother's lap and went upstairs. "This is a big step, Bells, you sure you're ready?" he asked. Bella nodded her head slowly.

"I think I am," she replied quietly.

She played with the rings around her neck. "Emmett has been understanding for so long," she murmured.

"Well, I guess I'll just sit back and say have fun," he answered.

Smiling, she went usptairs to do her homework.

At the Cullen house, Emmett was feeding Dana when Esme walked in. "Hello sweetheart," she greeted.

"Hey mom," he answered.

Esme kissed her son's cheek as she started dinner. "Mom, I'm gonna go out with Bella, Friday," he told her.

"Oh Emmett that's great. I was wondering when she would say yes," Esme commented.

Smiling a little, he cradled Dana to his chest. "It's just dinner and a movie, nothing that extravagant," he told her.

"And it shouldn't have to be. Your dad and mine's first date was just dinner at this little café. Your dad didn't really have a lot of money then so we shared a milkshake," Esme answered.

Emmett grinned a little as he watched his mother get the dreamy expression on her face. If this was a woman straight off the street, he would've thought she was still a newly wedded woman. He could only hope he could be as happy as his parents were. "My ears are ringing are you talking about me?" Carlisle asked.

"Just a little, our first date at that diner," she replied.

Carlisle laughed. "I'm lucky I got a second," he commented.

"What happened?" Alice asked as she sat in Jasper's lap.

Esme flushed a little, laughing. "Your dad was so nervous after we arrived at the diner, your dad pulled the chair out too far," she replied.

"Dad, since when were you ever clumsy?" Emmett quipped.

Carlisle laughed. "When you are in the presence of an incredible woman, son, you tend to get clumsy," he replied.

"Oh how sweet!" Alice said excitedly.

Emmett watched as his sister leaned back against her boyfriend/his best friend. "I remember when Jasper first took me out, it was so cute he was so nervous he was trying to nonchalantly wipe his sweaty hands on his pants," Alice commented.

"As your dad said, when you're in the presence of a beautiful woman, your mind clicks off," Jasper answered.

"Hey, my little sister bro watch it," Emmett told him.

Jasper grinned but then he held Alice close to him. Emmett couldn't help but feel envious of his parents and sister. Here they were happy as could be with their lives. Except there he was standing there with a baby girl in his arms and haunted by an experience he just wanted to forget about. The last thing he wanted to do was give Joanna the satisfaction that she had won. "So Emmett, who are you going out with since we're talking about first dates?" Alice asked.

The older Cullen sibling grinned. "I got Bella Swan to go out with me," he replied. Alice shrieked with excitement.

"Emmett that's great! I just know you two will be the greatest couple ever," she said excitedly.

"Alice don't bounce please my knees," Jasper told his girlfriend.

Alice just giggled, pressing her lips to his. "Hey over share," Emmett answered.

"Please, like we haven't walked in on you and Rosalie," Alice commented.

"You're my baby sister difference," he answered.

Again, the petite girl rolled her eyes. "Well, I hope you and Bella have a good time," Carlisle told his son.

"I hope so too. I've been waiting for this day since I met her," Emmett replied.

Esme smiled, gripping her son's shoulders. "It'll be great, sweetheart," she told him, kissing his cheek. Emmett smiled a little before looking at Dana who was looking at him curiously. Chuckling, he kissed her forehead and cradled her close, counting the minutes of when he was going to see Bella again.

At the Swan house that night, Bella was getting ready for bed when Eli crawled into the bed. "What are you doing here pumpkin?" she asked.

"I wanna sweep wif oo mama," he replied.

Smiling, Bella kissed the top of her son's head. "Just for tonight," she told him. Eli smiled as he snuggled up against her. Sighing, Bella rubbed her son's back when she looked at the clock. She was getting anxious with the fact she was going to see Emmett again in a few days, but this time it was for a date. Smiling, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	14. The First Date Attempt

Chapter 14: The First Date Attempt

Bella sighed as she was getting herself ready for her date with Emmett. "Mama wheaw aw oo going?" Eli asked.

"Mama's going out with Em, she'll be back later," Bella replied.

The little boy jumped up, hugging his mother around the legs. "No go mama! No go," he insisted. Bella reached down, lifting her son up.

"I'll be back soon," she told him, "you'll watch movies with grandpa."

She kissed his forehead as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Mama, no go," he whimpered. Bella rubbed his back, kissing the top of his head when Charlie walked in.

"Hey Bells, Emmett's downstairs," Charlie told her.

"Dad, I'm having a little trouble with Eli," she answered.

"Hey buddy, come here we'll hang out," Charlie told his grandson.

The toddler kept a grip on his mother, but then when he felt his grandfather's comforting hands rub his back, he let Bella go and hugged his grandfather tight. "I'll be back," she told him.

"Have fun Bells," Charlie answered.

Bella kissed the top of her son's head, rubbing his back before leaving.

Walking downstairs, she saw Emmett standing there waiting for her. "Wow…" he murmured. She had on a pair of ballet flats with a black jean skirt, and a pale blue button down shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail.

"Alice insisted on the skirt," she told him bashfully.

"You look beautiful," Emmett answered.

He smiled softly at her. "Shall we?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied as they left the house.

When they arrived in Port Angeles, Bella bit her lower lip and pushed her hair from her eyes. "This is so…weird for me. I haven't been on a date since…" she trailed off. Emmett reached over, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"We're just here to have fun," he told her.

Bella smiled before they sat down at a table. The music was soft and comfortable. It made her feel like times were easier, stress-free.

Noticing that she was distracted, Emmett reached over and caressed her hand softly with his. "Bella, talk to me Beautiful," he murmured. Lifting her head, she looked at him.

"I'm just…I don't know," she answered.

"Bella, remember you can tell me anything, anything at all," he said softly.

Biting her lower lip, she watched as his fingers traced circles into the palm of her hand. "I'm being unfair," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm being unfair, I'm here on a date with a guy who has been nothing but nice to me and all I can do…all I can…all I can think about is Edward," she replied.

Emmett reached over, pushing her hair from her face. "Bella, please don't feel guilty for thinking of him, missing him. It's natural, he was a huge part of your life," he told her. Sniffling, she lowered her head. "Please don't feel guilty for still loving him, he was your husband, your son's father. It's not something you're going to wake up tomorrow and forget, because you can't forget," he added.

Biting her trembling lower lip, she let out a shaky sigh. "I just hope…that even though Edward is in your heart, maybe someday your heart can accept me into it too," he murmured. Feeling tears well up in her eyes, she let out a shaky breath. What surprised her was Emmett stood up and he moved her from the other patrons who were watching them with prying eyes.

Standing outside, Emmett just hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her. Bella hugged him back, sniffling as she rested her forehead against his neck. "I want you to have fun, not have to worry about the evils of what life has done to you. I just want to see if I can make you smile, even make you laugh every once in awhile," he murmured. He rubbed her back gently. "A date doesn't always mean we're going to sit in the back of my jeep and make out for hours," he told her as they sat down.

Unable to keep it in, she laughed a little as she wiped the tears from her face. "A date is supposed to be fun, getting to know each other on a more personal level," he added. Smiling softly, she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"When did you become so sage-like?" she asked, laughing a little.

He laughed a little. "I listen to my sister's boyfriend too much sometimes," he replied, sitting back on the bench. Laughing a little more, she cleared her throat. "But seriously, Bells. This is just one date, one night where we can just hang out and get to know each other on a more personal level without you having to run to check on Eli or me needing to check on Dana. It's just an adult fun night," he added.

"I feel like I ruined the night," she murmured.

Emmett shook his head slowly. "Bella, I wish you would believe me when I tell you that I'm willing to wait for you, because I am. It might be next week, next month, next year, or the next ten years. I have a lot of time, I'm willing to wait," he answered.

"You might be waiting awhile then," she told him.

Reaching over, he stroked her hair gently. "Sometimes…the best things in life are worth waiting for," he murmured gently. Smiling a little, she rested her head on his shoulder. Emmett wrapped his arm around her waist, his thumb moving in circles on her elbow. "See, this is fun," he commented.

"What sitting here?" she asked laughing.

"Just the fact I'm with you makes this all worth it," he told her.

Smiling, Bella rested her hand on his knee, feeling him tense a little. Looking up, she saw his eyes cloud over a little. "Em?" she murmured. Emmett was still feeling her hand on his knee and his mind began to drift.

_He felt hands crawling up his legs and several girls laughing around him. "So is he truly the Sex King as the school has called him?" he heard Joanna ask. He felt hands all over him and girls laughing like crazy as if they were playing some stupid game._

Feeling a hand on his face, he jumped. "Emmett, Emmett, it's okay, it's okay," Bella told him when she saw the panicked expression on his face. Letting out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, breathing in and out of several times heavily. "What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Joanna again?" she asked.

Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard. "I guess we'll try to heal each other," she murmured as she rested her head on his shoulder again. Emmett rested his head on the top of her head.

"I'm just wondering of how long will it be before I can finally remember anything," he answered.

"It's amazing that you remember what you do now," she told him.

Bella held his large hand between her smaller hands. "We'll get through all of our troubles together, Emmett, just like you were telling me," she murmured. Nodding, he held one of her hands up to his lips, kissing her knuckles as they just sat outside and stared at the starry sky.


	15. The Pictures

Chapter 15: The Pictures

Emmett smiled as he lifted Dana up from her crib. "Good morning beautiful girl," he cooed softly. Dana just let out a little gurgle, clapping her tiny hands together. Smiling, he kissed her forehead before walking downstairs.

"Good morning sweetheart," Esme greeted.

"Hey ma," he answered, kissing her cheek.

Esme looked at her granddaughter. "Well hello Day," she cooed, kissing her soft forehead. Dana just continued to gurgle while Emmett sat down with a bottle in hand. "So are you seeing Bella today?" Esme asked. He glanced at her with a sigh.

"Actually mom, I need to talk to you about something," he replied.

Furrowing her brow, Esme sat across from her son. "What is it sweetheart?" she asked. Sighing, he looked at his daughter as she drank her bottle.

"Mom, do you remember how I was like when I came back from that party?" he asked.

Staring at him, she let out a sigh. "You were pretty much a mess, Jasper half-dragged you into the house," she replied. Emmett frowned a little. "This wasn't your first night coming home like that so we just thought you had too much of that spiked punch again," she told him.

Seeing his blue eyes glaze over, she felt her heart stop. "Or…at least that's what Jasper told us," she said softly. Emmett lifted his head. "Emmett, what's the matter?" she asked as she walked over and rested her hand on her son's cheek. Swallowing hard, he let out a shaky breath.

"Mom…I wasn't drunk that night," he whispered, "I barely had a buzz."

Esme felt her knees grow weak and she sat in the chair across from her son. "No…" she whispered. He nodded his head slowly. "Oh baby…" she murmured. She carefully moved Dana from Emmett's arms, placing her into Carlisle's arm when he walked in and embraced her son. "Oh my baby," she whispered, hugging him tight.

Hugging her tight, Emmett closed his eyes tight with tears in his eyes. "What's happening?" Carlisle asked. Esme looked at her husband with a small sob.

"He wasn't drunk that night at the party Carlisle," she told her husband.

Carlisle watched as Esme placed her hands on their son's shoulders. "I told you he was acting too weird to be drunk, we've seen him drunk," she babbled. He just stared at his son, feeling as if his stomach went to his feet.

"It explains why you never remembered sleeping with Joanna," he commented.

Placing Dana back into his son's arms, he let out a sigh. "It also explains this," he murmured. Emmett furrowed his brow as Carlisle went up to his office and then came back downstairs with a file in his hand. "I took these pictures just in case our instincts were right, but then you woke up and just thought you had a wild night, I put them away," Carlisle explained.

Emmett stared at the file as his father placed it beside him. Opening the file, Emmett's eyes widened when he saw pictures of his back and torso. "I don't remember these scratches," he commented. It looked like he had been clawed by some wild animal.

"You were pretty oblivious of the party for the longest time," Carlisle answered.

Esme bit her lower lip with tears in her eyes. "Do you remember anything son?" he asked.

"I just remember a lot of touching and whispering. I remember them commenting about my hands being tied down," he replied.

"It would explain these then," Carlisle commented.

Pulling out another picture, he showed Emmett the photograph of his bruised wrists. "Why didn't you take me to the emergency room?" Emmett asked.

"We did, Emmett, we really did. The doctor who examined you though just had you discharged after Jasper commented that you had been at a party," Esme replied.

"The doctor no longer works at that hospital because of how unprofessional he was," Carlisle commented.

Emmett continued to stare at the many photographs his dad took of his back, torso, and wrists. "I want Joanna arrested," he told his parents.

"We'll go talk to the police," Esme said softly, stroking her son's hair.

After he fed Dana, he got up and walked over to the phone. Dialing the number, he sat down in his chair. "Forks Police Department," the operator answered, "how can I help you?"

"Yes, I want to report a rape," he said slowly as Esme hugged him around the torso with tears in her eyes.

Carlisle stood behind his wife, resting his hand on her back with tears in his own eyes as Emmett pinched the bridge of his nose to keep his strength up to report the horrific crime against him.

At the Swan home, Bella was sitting in the living room chewing on her lower lip when Charlie looked at her. "What's up Bells?" he asked. The young woman glanced at her father.

"Dad, have you heard a lot of guys who had been raped by girls?" she asked.

The question caught him off guard and he just stared at her for a second. "The statistics of a guy saying he was raped is at 10% Bella. It happens, but only 10% of them report it," he replied. Letting out a deep breath, she rubbed her hands together. "What brought that up?" he asked.

"Dad, I think one of my friends is in trouble," she replied quietly.

"Who?" Charlie asked.

Swallowing hard, she let out a deep breath. "Emmett," she replied.

"Emmett?" he asked.

She nodded her head slowly. "I can't say a lot because he doesn't want anyone else knowing, but this girl. Dad there's something about her that's just…scary," she replied. Charlie rubbed his chin as he sat back.

"I'll talk to his parents and ask if they need any sort of help and maybe Emmett will want to talk," he commented.

Nodding again, Charlie reached over and rested his hand on her arm. "Bella, it takes a lot of guts to protect someone," he told her.

"I can't lose someone else important to me," she said softly, "to Eli and me."

Sitting beside his daughter, he hugged her gently as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I can't lose someone else that means everything to me," she murmured.

"It won't happen," he answered.

Bella sighed, hoping that she could keep Emmett safe again.


	16. Never Alone

Chapter 16: Never Alone

Bella woke up with a gasp, dragging her fingers through her sweat, damp hair. For the first time in over a year she had yet another dream of Edward's death. Swallowing hard, she got up from bed and went downstairs to get something to drink.

Standing in the kitchen, she leaned back against the counter with a shaky breath. Closing her eyes, she slowly slid to the floor with a small sob. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was 4:15 in the morning. Getting up from the floor, she put her glass in the sink and pulled on her sneakers. Pulling her hair back in a ponytail, she grabbed her sweater that was hanging up and was grateful she had chosen to sleep in sweatpants that night. Pulling on her sweater, she walked out of the house.

Walking down the stairs, she saw her breath as she pulled on her hood. Not caring that it was early in the morning and any minute Charlie was going to wake up to find her gone. Thankfully she left him a note telling him that she had to be alone.

At first, it started off as a simple walk, but then it turned into speed walking, soon she was jogging, and then she broke out into a full run. She ran and ran to the point she felt the muscles in her legs begin to burn followed by the burning in her lungs. Yet she pushed herself, she continued to push herself as she ended up going down a trail.

Bella continued to run, somehow she seemed to miss every fallen branch that would usually trip her. Seeing a fallen log, she stopped running for a second to climb over it, but then she started again. She continued to run until she tripped and fell flat on the muddy ground.

She lied there for what felt like hours. She grabbed a handful of dirt and mud, letting out a scream. A scream that dealt with nothing of physical pain, but emotional pain. Rolling onto her back, she sat up. "Why? WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM FROM ME? WHAT DID I DO WRONG? WHAT?" she shouted to the sky. She got up from the ground. "I WANT HIM BACK!" she screamed at the sky, "GIVE HIM BACK!"

When she didn't receive any sort of answer, she let out another scream. "You lied to me! You told me you'd never leave me! YOU LIED TO ME!" she screamed as she started hitting and kicking the nearest tree, "YOU LIED! I'M ALL AONE BECAUSE YOU LIED!" Gripping the tree, she slid to the ground with a sob. She sat down on the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest with a sob. "You lied to me, you lied, you lied," she repeated over and over again. It was almost like a broken record as she rocked back and forth, saying those words again and again.

Her knuckles ached and she was pretty sure her right hand was at least fractured. Her knees throbbed from falling as well as her palms, but they had nothing to compare to the stabbing pain shooting through her heart. Reaching into her sweater, she pulled out the silver chain, staring at the two rings on the chain.

Leaning back against the tree, she closed her eyes and she ended up falling back to sleep.

Back at the Swan house, Charlie was sitting nervously in the living room. It was close to 10:00 and Bella still wasn't back from her walk. Getting up from his chair, he grabbed the phone and started calling her friends.

Emmett was sitting in the living room, bouncing a gurgling Dana on his knee when his cell phone rang. "Hello," he answered, not looking at the caller ID.

"Emmett, this is Chief Swan, Bella's dad," Charlie told him.

"Hey Chief, what's up?" Emmett asked while making faces at Dana.

"Have you heard from Bella this morning?" Charlie asked.

Suddenly, the young father frowned. "No sir, not this morning," he replied, "is she okay?"

"I'm not sure…she only left a note this morning saying she went out for a walk. I don't know what time that was and she's not back yet. Her cell phone is in her room so I don't even know how to get a hold of her," Charlie explained.

"Um…I'm on my way to help you find her," Emmett replied.

Hanging up, he looked over at Esme. "I have to go find Bella, she took off this morning and her dad's now a wreck trying to find her," he told his mother.

"Go, go I'll watch Dana," Esme answered, taking the baby.

Kissing the top of his daughter's head, he grabbed his keys when he saw Jasper pull up on his motorcycle. "Yo don't even get off, Jazz," he told him.

"Why, what's up?" Jasper asked as he pulled off his helmet.

"Bella's gone we don't know where she is. She just left a note for her dad and took off. He has no idea when she left, so she could've been gone for hours for all he knew," Emmett replied.

Jasper pulled on his helmet again. "Alright, I'll follow you," Jasper told him.

"Yep," Emmett answered as he hopped into his jeep and the two of them sped off.

When they got to the Swan house, Emmett got out of his jeep as Charlie walked out. "Any idea where she could've gone?" Emmett asked.

"I have a feeling if Bella went for a walk she went in the woods," Charlie replied.

"Great, she could be anywhere then," Emmett muttered.

Charlie nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's split up and find her," Emmett told him as Jacob pulled up.

"I have a few of my friends from the police department coming out to help," Charlie answered.

Emmett nodded and looked at Jasper. "Hey Jazz, why don't you take your bike down the east trail and I'll go on foot through here," he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll call you if I spot her," Jasper answered.

"Good," Charlie told them as Jacob pulled up in his car.

Emmett patted Charlie's shoulder before he started running through the forest. "BELLA!" he shouted for her as he continued down the trail. He was suddenly extremely grateful of all the times his dad would take him and Alice out into the forest in either there or Alaska to show them how to find someone if they were lost or to find their way home if they were ever lost.

Jumping up onto a fallen tree, he noticed some skid marks in the ground. Jumping down, he saw small footsteps, telling him he was going the right way. "Jazz," he called to his friend after dialing his number.

"Find her?" Jasper asked.

"I found her trail, head back and tell Charlie I found her trail at least," Emmett replied.

"Alright sounds good," Jasper told him.

Emmett ran down the trail after hanging up with Jasper when he stopped. He felt his heart leap for joy when he found Bella. Except, his relief turned to dread when he saw how still she was. "Bella?" he called, hurrying over to her. Bending down, he touched her face and she moaned softly.

"Edward…" she whimpered in her sleep.

Emmett kept his hand on her forehead. "Shit you're burning up," he muttered. He gently touched her face. "Come on baby wake up," he told her gently patting her face, "come on please." She slowly opened her eyes.

With her version blurry, she could just feel hands on her face. Their hands felt ice cold against her hot skin. "Edward…" she murmured softly as her eyes began to drift close again.

Emmett just stared at her, she was obviously hallucinating with the fever. "You lied to me…you're a liar," she told him as her eyes began to drift close again.

"Shit, shit, shit," Emmett muttered as he lifted her up into the carrying position.

Getting up from the ground, he ran as fast as he could back to the Swan house to get her to the hospital fast.

At the hospital, Bella slowly woke up to the sound of a heart monitor gong off and her vision blurred a little. Her throat burned and her eyes felt heavy. She saw someone sitting on the edge of her bed and tried to focus. She saw her parents staring at her. "Mom…what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Your dad called me two days ago telling me that you were found in the middle of the woods on the brink of hypothermia and you have pneumonia," Renee replied.

Bella tried to focus on her father. "Dad…" she started. Instead of saying anything, Charlie just hugged her gently and rubbed her back.

"You scared me kiddo," he told her softly, "you're just lucky that Emmett's dad taught him how to track people just in case he or someone else were ever to get lost."

"Sorry…" she said softly, closing her eyes.

"Bella, what were you thinking?" Renee asked.

The young woman was quiet, staring at the white wall. "You had another dream, didn't you?" Renee asked. Again, she was silent and the woman touched her daughter's head. "Bella, killing yourself won't bring Edward back, not only that it'll leave Elijah alone," she told her daughter. Bella closed her eyes, sniffling softly.

"Renee, come on we don't need to stress her out," Charlie insisted standing up.

"Aren't you the least upset that our daughter almost killed herself?" Renee demanded.

"I am concerned, but right now she needs to fight off the pneumonia and upsetting her won't help," Charlie insisted.

Renee sighed, kissing the side of her daughter's head before leaving. Charlie kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Don't ever scare me like that again baby," he whispered into her ear before leaving.

Bella was just lying in her hospital bed, staring at the wall when Emmett walked in, knocking. "Hey, you're awake," he said smiling. Looking at him, she gave him a small smile. "Scared the hell out of me beautiful," he told her, stroking her hair.

"Why…" she said softly.

"I wanted to see you," he said as he sat on the edge of her bed.

Bella shook her head slowly, swallowing hard. "Why…Why am I still here and he's gone? Why did he lie?" she asked. Emmett frowned, holding her hands in his.

"I really doubt it was his intention to "leave"," he whispered.

"But he did," Bella answered.

Emmett sighed as he kissed her knuckles. "Keep in mind that he was protecting you," he told her. Biting her lower lip, she closed her eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks. Feeling his heart break, he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm raising my son alone because he's gone, it's not fair," she told him.

Emmett sighed again as he moved behind her on the bed. "Bella, you are far from alone, far from it," he whispered as she started falling asleep again. Swallowing hard, he rested his forehead against the back of her head. "I'm here, Bella, always. I'll never leave," he whispered. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I love you," he whispered to her sleeping form while hugging her close to him.

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay of updates. I hope you liked the update that is up. I had been working on my book, getting it ready to be copyrighted and published hopefully in the next year. Thank you all for your patience and there will be another update soon.**

**Arwennicole**


	17. Surprise Talk

Chapter 17: Surprise Talk

Bella was released from the hospital a week later. She went right back to how she was when she arrived in Forks, she just stayed in and played with Eli. She wouldn't answer her phone anymore, all the progress she had done in the last year went down a hole.

A week after Emmett found her in the hospital, Bella was lying on her stomach on the floor, coloring with Eli. "Mama, wook," Eli said beaming as he showed his mother his drawing.

"Awesome drawing kiddo," she told her son.

"Hey Bells, Angela's on the phone," Charlie told his daughter.

"What does she want?" Bella asked.

Charlie shook his head slowly, tossing her cell phone to her. "She wants to hang out with you pick up the damn phone," he told his daughter. Sighing, Bella picked up the phone.

"Hello? Hey Ange…no not tonight…no I'm just going to hang out with Eli for awhile. Okay, bye," she answered before hanging up.

The older man shook his head slowly. "Bella, you can't keep cutting your friends off," he told his daughter.

"Dad, I just don't want to go out," she answered.

Sitting up, she pulled Eli into her lap, smiling as the boy continued to draw his pictures with such a large smile on his little face. She kissed the side of his head, hugging him close.

At the Cullen home, Emmett wasn't doing so well himself since Bella refused to return any of Emmett's phone calls. The man was slowly shrinking into someone no one recognized. It frightened them really. Here he used to be the life of the party, but now all he did was concentrate on Dana. He put on a smile for her, he took care of her. What he wanted…what he NEEDED the most was Bella back in his life.

Since realizing what had happened to him, Bella was what kept him falling into such a depression with what happened to him. Now that she had fallen back to her depressed state, he was falling into one.

That same afternoon, Alice was walking out of the kitchen with Jasper beside her when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Alice answered. She was shocked to see Rosalie walk in. "Rosalie…" she started.

"Where's Emmett?" she asked, tossing her purse onto the table.

"He's in his room, we told you he hasn't moved," Alice replied.

The blond flipped a blond curl over her shoulder as she passed her twin and his girlfriend as she walked up the stairs, her stiletto heels clicking against the hardwood floors.

Hurrying up the stairs, she turned the corner into Emmett's room. "Emmett?" she called, knocking on the door. She saw him sitting in a rocking chair, reading to Dana who was already asleep in the crook of his arm. "Emmett," she called.

Stopping his story, he looked over at Rosalie. "Hey, Rose," he greeted as he got up from the chair. Walking over to his daughter's crib, he placed her inside the crib and turned on the mobile. "What are you doing here?" he asked, "I thought you'd be in New York."

"I was but then I got a hysterical call from your mother because apparently I was the only one she could get a hold of," she replied.

She took off her hat, placing it on the desk. "Emmett, what's happened?" she asked concerned. Emmett glanced at her as he sat back against his rocking chair, closing his eyes.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Liar," she told him.

"How can you possibly know that?" he asked.

The blond shook her head slowly. "The fact since all the years I've known you, you never make eye contact when you lie," she replied. Opening his eyes, he let out a sigh. "What's happened?" she asked.

"Roaslie…" he started.

"I know you better than anyone here and you've changed," she told him, "your mother's told me what's going on and Emmett this isn't you."

She stood up and stood in front of him with her hands on his face. "Emmett please tell me," she whispered. He let out a shaky breath, shaking his head slowly.

"I can't," he answered.

"Can't what?" she asked as she kneeled in front of him.

She kept a grip on his hands. "Emmett, we broke up badly but I still care about you. We were each other's first loves that has to mean something," she whispered. He nodded his head slowly, gripping her hands tightly.

"Remember…that day…that day you answered the phone…when Joanna called about her being pregnant?" he asked.

She nodded her head slowly and he felt his world come apart again. "Rosalie I never cheated on you, I promise. I didn't do it willingly, I didn't," he told her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"She drugged me," he told her brokenly.

Rosalie's eyes widened in shock and she felt like her whole world crumbled. "No…." she whispered. Emmett nodded his head slowly, closing his eyes tight. "Oh Emmett!" she gasped, hugging him tight. He hugged her back, resting his forehead against her shoulder.

"Bella won't talk to me either, Rose," he told her.

Rosalie hushed him gently, rubbing his back as she calmed him down. "When was the last time you slept?" she asked softly.

"I don't remember," he replied truthfully.

"Come on, you need to go to sleep," she told him.

She got him up from the chair and got him to lay down. As soon as his pillow hit the pillow, he was out. Rosalie shook her head slowly as she left the house and walked over to her convertible. Climbing in, she started it up and drove off.

Bella had Eli in his booster seat, getting him to eat his dinner when there was a knock on the door. "Eat your carrots kiddo," she told him, walking to the door. Opening it, she was shocked to see Rosalie standing there. "Rosalie…" she trailed off.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rosalie asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

The blond woman shook her head slowly. "You really have yourself fooled don't you?" she asked as she walked into the house, removing her hat as she did so.

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked, closing the door.

"The fact it takes a lot of guts for a man like Emmett to admit what happened to him. The guy is just as messed up as you are if not more yet you sit here and play pity Bella," Rosalie said angrily.

Bella glared at her. "I lost my husband!" she hissed.

"Yeah? Emmett lost his dignity," Rosalie answered, "he was used like some sort of sex toy by a bunch of sluts that he can only remember the face to one other girl!"

Rosalie stared at her. "How about opening your eyes and realizing that Emmett needs you as much as you need him?" she suggested.

"Emmett's strong," Bella answered as she tried to walk away.

"Emmett can only be strong for so long. Even the strongest break," Rosalie told her, "I have never EVER seen Emmett as torn up as he is now!"

The younger woman looked at the blond woman. "You're not blaming Emmett's attitude all on me," Bella told her.

"Not all of it, I blame 90% of it on that sluts that did this to him. I don't know this Edward person, but my question is this. Would he want you to sit here and just let your life pass you by?" Rosalie demanded.

She walked over to the front door and put her hat back on. "I love Emmett with all my heart and soul, but it's obvious he doesn't feel the same. I am however, going to do whatever it takes that he's happy again. The only way he's happy, Bella, is if you let him in more than you have and he will do the same. The guy needs to heal just as badly as you," she explained. Rosalie took out her keys and left the house after that.

Standing in the middle of the hall, Bella heard Rosalie's car drive off and leaned against the wall. She had to think back when she first arrived in Forks with Eli. He was the first person to welcome her, the first one to be kind to her. He always offered her his shoulder, he just needed the same. She bit her lower lip as she looked at the kitchen. Letting out a deep breath she walked over and sat across from her son at the dinner table, eating her dinner while she mulled over everything Rosalie had told her.


	18. Trying Again

Chapter 18: Trying Again

Two days later, Emmett was in the workout room in the backyard, lifting weights while Dana was in her carrier making little gurgling noises while watching. "Whatcha doin pretty girl?" he cooed to Dana. The baby just let out a laugh, clapping her hands. He chuckled lightly as he continued with his workout.

Getting up, Emmett lifted Dana up and had her stand up on his knees. Dana just drooled and stuck her tiny fists into her mouth. "Daddy's big girl," he cooed. He kissed her forehead softly when he heard the door open. "I'll be in, in a minute ma," he called out.

"It's not your mom," a familiar voice murmured.

Looking up, he saw Bella standing there, biting her lower lip. "Hey…" she said slowly.

"Hi," he answered, placing Dana into her carrier again.

He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. "What's up?" he asked.

"I came to talk to you," she replied.

Setting her bag down, she cleared her throat. "What did you need…" he started when she suddenly walked over hugging him. Standing there for a second, he slowly reached up and hugged her close.

"I'm sorry," she told him.

Emmett rubbed her back gently. "I'm sorry for trying to cut you out of my life," she added.

"Bella…" he trailed off, letting out a sigh.

He sat down on the bench behind him, staring up at her. "No, you need to listen to me," she insisted. She got down on her knees, resting her arms on his knee with a shaky breath. "This is so hard for me…you know? I mean…I went from having a wonderful husband and a great life to learning how to live again," she explained.

Nodding his head slowly, he rested his hand on her arms. "I'm so mad at him, Emmett," she said quietly.

"Mad at who? Riley? That's only normal," he answered.

"It's not Riley, yes I'm mad at him. He took away my son's father, I'll always be angry with him. What he did was unforgivable," she told him.

Emmett stared at her as she stood up from the floor. "I'm mad at Edward," she admitted. Sitting in silence, he just listened to her. "I'm mad that he left me! He promised he'd never leave me alone and yet here I am…all alone and raising our son…alone. He's not here to watch him, he's not here to help me. I'm alone and I'm mad at him for dying on me!" she exclaimed.

Before Emmett could react, she grabbed one of the lighter weights, throwing it across the room. "HE LIED TO ME!" she screamed.

"Bella…stop," he told her.

She started throwing and kicking things across the room. Hurrying over, he grabbed her hands before she could tear the whole room apart. Letting out a sob, she went to sit down when he pulled her into his arms and hugged her as tight as he could. She hugged him back, gripping the back of his t-shirt. He rested his forehead against the top of her head as she broke down in his arms. "It's not fair, it's not," she said sobbing helplessly into his arms.

"I know, I know it's not," he whispered.

She let out a deep breath as she rested her head on his chest. "Do you know what the worse part is?" she asked.

"What's that?" he asked.

Bella pulled back, rubbing her arms. "I can still feel him, everywhere," she answered. Emmett stroked her hair softly. "I feel guilty whenever I start to like a guy because I still feel married," she told him. She sat down again, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I've always known that I was meant to be with Edward, but he wasn't supposed to die until we were old and gray to the point we can hardly hear or see each other anymore," she explained.

"I know," he answered.

Emmett sat across from her, staring at her. "Here I meet this wonderful guy…the greatest guy I could ever ask for and I still think about my late husband," she murmured.

"Bella, Edward was your husband. I'd be worried if you were suddenly not thinking about him and having Eli call me 'daddy'," he answered.

She stared at him quizzically, wiping tears from her face. "I don't deserve the honor of that title, he already has a father. Granted a father who was unrightfully taken from him, but a father. From what you tell me, Bells, he was a great father," he commented. Nodding her head slowly, she twisted her rings around on the necklace that hung around her neck.

"A great father, he adored Eli," she whispered.

"I'm not here to take Edward's place. I'd be one selfish son of a bitch to even fathom the idea of trying to replace him. He was a huge part of yours and Eli's lives, I don't want to take that away," he explained.

Smiling sadly, she looked at the floor. "I'm just going to hope that one day you're going to open your heart a little wider so Dana and I can fit in it?" he asked. She lifted her head, pushing her hair from her eyes as she stared at him.

"Maybe…hopefully," she replied.

Emmett moved to sit beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "I have all the time in the world, you're someone worth waiting for," he explained quietly. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his chest. Emmett stroked her hair softly, letting out a deep breath.

The two of them sat in silence for the longest time before he finally let her go. "I'm going to need your help too," he said suddenly. She tilted her head to the side a little.

"What for?" she asked.

Emmett walked over to Dana, lifting her up out of her carrier. "I'm having your dad investigate my case," he replied, "he's trying to track down Joanna and her friends."

"You need my support?" she asked.

"Actually, I have a plan that I need your help with," he replied, "because it's been so long there's far from DNA evidence of the attack. All they have is pictures, but I need more."

Bella raised her eyebrow, but then realization hit her. "You need a full confession," she commented.

"Exactly," he answered.

"How am I going to get that for you?" she asked.

Emmett stared at her intently then she caught on. "You have completely lost your mind Emmett Cullen," she commented standing up.

"Lost it a long time ago beautiful," he answered chuckling.

"Emmett I hardly wear makeup and never dress up. Joanna is everything I can't stand about girls like that," she commented.

"I know, but Joanna for some reason keeps telling people how she's friends with the Police Chief's daughter," he answered.

Bella furrowed her brow in confusion. "For some reason she thinks that ups her popularity in this town," he commented.

"She'll definitely not tell me that she did it then!" she exclaimed, "I'm the Police Chief's daughter, Em. She won't open up to me about that."

"You have to give her a reason to," he answered.

The young woman just stared, unsure if she was actually hearing what he was saying. "Please, Bella. She won't tell Alice obviously because she's my sister. She thinks you and I aren't friends anymore because of what happened a few weeks ago," he explained.

"Okay, okay, I get it," she answered, "but why me? Why not Rosalie?"

"Hello, ex-girlfriend, jealous ex-girlfriend at that," Emmett replied with a slight laugh.  
>"True good point," she agreed quietly.<p>

Emmett laughed when Dana started laughing. They stared at the baby. "Wow a true laugh!" Emmett said excitedly, lifting his daughter above his head, "you gave an actual laugh Beauty Girl." Dana just made more noises, tapping her tiny hands on his face, making her father beam. "Daddy loves you," he cooed.

As she watched the father, daughter moment across from her, Bella couldn't help but smile. She loved watching Emmett interact with children, especially with Eli and Dana. They were the happiest kids in the world when he was around. Sighing a little, she tilted her head back and could only hope that she would succeed in getting Joanna caught and sent to jail for what she had done to Emmett.


	19. Wanting Closure

Chapter 19: Wanting Closure

Bella smiled as she was sitting in bed with Eli beside her and a book in her hands. As she was reading the book, she noticed that Eli wasn't really interested in the story. "What's the matter buggy?" she asked, stroking his hair.

"I wanna know daddy," he replied.

The young mother sighed sadly as her son got up from bed and grabbed his favorite picture of Edward off his little table and climbed back into bed. "Well, I can tell you all you want about daddy," she told him softly as he rested his head on her side. Bella took the picture in her hands, tracing her thumb over the side. "I remember the first day your daddy and I met, we were in our last year of middle school…" she started as her brain drifted back to that first day she met Edward.

_**Bella was at her locker, getting her books ready for her class when the warning bell went off. Closing her locker, she started hurrying to class when she slipped on the stairs. Letting out a shriek, she started to fall when someone grabbed her arm, pulling her back. Having lost her balanced, she fell backwards and took her rescuer down with her. "Whoa! You okay?" a velvety voice asked.**_

_**Looking up, she stared straight into a pair of green eyes. "Um…yeah," she said slowly. Chuckling, he stood up and held his hand out to her as he stood up. Reaching up, she slipped her hand into his when she felt tingles run up and down her arm.**_

_**"That first step is a doozy," he quipped, making her blush and laugh nervously.**_

_**He reached down to gather her books. "You don't have to do that," she told him as she squatted down to gather her books.**_

_**"I want to," he started.**_

_**They both reached for the same book and their heads collided, making them both pull back, holding their heads a little. Looking at each other, they started laughing. "I'm Edward," he told her, holding out his hand to her again. Smiling, she slipped her hand into his again.**_

_**"Bella," she replied.**_

Bella smiled as she stroked her son's hair. "You know how you like to play piano?" she asked. Eli nodded his head slowly. "Your daddy liked the piano too," she said softly.

"He did?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Yep," Bella replied.

She rubbed his back a little when she got up slowly. "Actually, mama has one of his CD's," she told him.

"Daddy famous?" he asked anxiously.

Bella laughed a little. "No, but he was going to be one day," she replied. Reaching into her desk drawer, she pulled out a CD. Making her way over to the CD player, she popped the disk in and sat down after turning the stereo on.

"_Hey Bella, happy birthday. Here are a few songs I composed for you…I hope you like them_," Edward's velvety voice came over the radio.

Eli's grin broadened with excitement as he heard his father's voice. "Daddy!" he exclaimed.

"There's daddy," Bella replied.

She watched as the little boy lied back on his pillows as Edwards music filled the room. "Mama why daddy gone?" he asked. The young woman sadly lied down on her side, stroking his face gently.

"Daddy's in heaven sweetheart," she replied quietly.

"Why?" he asked.

Feeling her heart twist, she cleared her throat. "Daddy was hurt really, really badly one day. So the angels decided that instead of…instead of him suffering they had him go back home to Heaven," she replied softly. The boy frowned, resting his head on her stomach.

"Daddy come home hewe?" he asked.

Feeling tears press against her eyes, she kissed the top of her head. "Daddy won't be coming home here baby," she replied softly, "but he's always watching you. He loved you so much." She stroked his hair softly as she watched as Eli slowly started to drift off to sleep. "Your daddy named you, the day I told him you were in mama's tummy, he was so happy," she whispered.

She took his little hand in hers. "Even though the newspaper got it wrong, your daddy named you Elijah Anthony Masen," she whispered. Looking down, she saw that Eli was almost asleep and kissed his forehead. "Sweet dreams buggy," she whispered before covering him up and went downstairs.

Walking into the living room, she didn't realize she was crying again until she felt her father hug her tight. "How much did you hear?" she asked.

"Just about everything," Charlie replied, rubbing her back.

Bella sniffled as she gripped the back of his shirt. "You did everything right, kiddo, everything right," he assured her.

"I miss him," Bella answered.

"I know," he murmured as he continued to comfort his daughter.

Later that night, Bella was sitting out in her truck staring at the house. She jumped when she heard the passenger's side door open and Emmett crawled in. "Hey, aren't you freezing?" Emmett asked as he took a blanket he brought with him and wrapped it around her.

"How did you know I've been out here for awhile? I could've just gotten in," she replied, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.

"Your dad called me, told me that Eli was asking questions," he told her.

Emmett leaned against his hand, while stroking her hair with the other. "Before I help you…with all this Joanna stuff…can you help me?" she asked, looking at him.

"Anything," he replied immediately.

She shivered a little, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders some more. "I-I want to-to go back to Phoenix," she stated, shivering a little. Emmett stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I need to see Edward's murderer…I need to look him in the eyes. I haven't seen him since Edward's death, I need closure," she told him.

"You think talking to him will help?" he asked.

"It has to…I need to know why…I need to know why us," she replied.

Sighing, he held her cold, small hand in his large, warm hand. "You might not like the answers you get," he warned her.

"Yeah well, I know that. Except, there's nothing more he can take from me, he already stole everything," she answered.

Reaching over, he pulled her into his arms and got her out of the truck, lifting her up into his arms. Bella rested her head on his chest. "He stole my son's chance of getting to know his father…he stole every chance in the world we could've had as a family. How much more can he take away?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Carrying her back inside, he sat on the couch with her, rubbing her arm as she rested her head on his chest. "I'll go with you," he whispered. Bella let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes and rested in his arms. "I'll go anywhere with you," he added quietly as she started to drift off in his arms.

Looking up, Emmett saw Charlie standing in the doorway. "Take care of her Emmett, she's been through enough heartache," Charlie told the young man before gong upstairs.

"Yes sir," Emmett answered.

Watching Charlie go upstairs, he looked back at Bella who was now asleep. "I love you…one day I'm going to tell you while you're awake," he whispered while rubbing her back.

A few days later, Bella was standing in the airport with her carry-on over her shoulder. "I'll be back in a few days dad," Bella told him.

"I know, just be careful," Charlie answered.

Reaching over, he hugged his daughter tight. Bella hugged him back, letting out a shaky breath. "I need to do this," she said to her father.

"I know," he repeated.

Emmett was waiting by the gate, letting out a deep breath. He wasn't sure what to do once they got to Phoenix, he was hoping this would help Bella with the closure she was looking for, to help her move on. Just like he had to move on, he had to move on from the pain and humiliation Joanna caused him. He knew there was one person that could help him move in his life, that could only be Bella. "Flight 279 to Phoenix, Arizona is now boarding," the flight attendant announced over the PA system.

"Bella," Emmett called.

Bella let her father go and hugged Eli tight. "Be good for grandpa," she told him.

"Mama, you gonna see daddy?" he asked.

Bella squatted down in front of her son. "Maybe," she replied softly. The little boy reached into his dinosaur backpack.

"Give to daddy?" he asked, handing his mother a piece of paper.

Looking at it, Bella felt tears well in her eyes when she saw that it was a picture of her and Eli with an angel in the sky that had 'daddy' written beside it. "I'll give it to him," she said softly. She kissed his forehead before hugging him tight. "I love you buggy," she murmured.

"Wuv oo mama," he answered.

She kissed the side of his head before letting him go and grabbed her bag off the floor. "Ready?" she asked Emmett as she walked up to him.

"Ready when you are," he replied.

Holding her hand in his, they boarded the plane and they were on their way back to Phoenix.


	20. What Hurts the Most

Chapter 20: What Hurts the Most

Bella let out a deep breath as Emmett pulled up to the jailhouse. "Want me to go in with you?" Emmett asked. Biting her lower lip, she stared at the large gate before shaking her head slowly.

"No…I need to do this on my own," she replied.

Emmett gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm here if you need me," he assured her. Nodding her head slowly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. Getting out of the car, she walked up the steps and into the jailhouse.

Biting her lower lip, she looked around as she waited for the officers to bring Riley in. Sitting on the opposite side of the glass, she swallowed hard when she saw the door open on the other side and Riley was escorted over to each step he took, the more flashes of that horrible night entered her mind.

_**Bella was sitting on the alley ground, cradling her husband's body in her arms. "Edward! Edward wake up! Edward!" she begged, patting his cheek lightly. Tears fell down her face as she rested her forehead against his. "NO!" she screamed as she gripped the front of his bloody shirt, "DON'T LEAVE ME!"**_

Bella opened her eyes when she saw Riley sitting right in front of her. With a shaky hand, she took the other phone. "Well…I'm surprised you're here," he commented.

"I'm surprised I'm here," she answered.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Swallowing hard, she let out a deep breath. "Why?" she asked, "why us? We did nothing to you." Tears fell down her face. "Why did you kill my husband?" she asked.

"Hey, not my fault your husband stuck his nose into my friend's business," he answered.

"Your "friend" was about to rape me right in front of him. Did you truly expect that he was going to stand there and watch?" she demanded.

"Listen lady, I had a job to do and your husband screwed it all up," he answered.

Bella swallowed hard. "You had a job to do?" she asked. Riley closed his mouth.

"Nothing, you two were just another jump," he told her.

The young woman sat there as she thought back to that night. Lifting her eyes, she looked him in the face. "Wait…wait we weren't random! It was too precise," she insisted.

"Please, you were just like any other job, just turned badly," he answered.

Bella shook her head slowly, but then she reached into her purse. "You look into this face and you tell me how much of a job we were!" she told him. Grabbing Eli's picture from her wallet, she pressed it up against the glass. "Look at him!" she said with glaring eyes.

The young man tried to avert his eyes from the picture pressed against the glass. "Meet mine and Edward's son! Thanks to you! My son will never truly get to know his father, he'll only learn about him through stories and photographs. Do you think that would be truly enough? This little boy loves and adores his father, even though he has no idea who he is," she explained. A tear fell down Bella's cheek. "You're in jail, great. My husband got the justice he deserved, but it won't bring him back!" she said angrily.

Bella felt her heart ache. "How can you say we were just a job!" she demanded.

"That's all you were," he answered, still not looking at Eli's picture.

"Don't you feel any remorse at all for what you did? Isn't that why you plead guilty?" she asked.

"Lady, I plead guilty because someone turned my ass in from the start! I plead guilty because I had information they wanted and if I was dead, then they couldn't get what they wanted," he answered.

Bella stared at him, putting Eli's picture back in her purse. "What information?" she asked. Riley just stared at her. "Riley, what information?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he answered before hanging up.

He got up and walked away with the guard that came to get him. She suddenly felt like he had more to say, but wasn't allowed to. Getting up, she left the jailhouse.

Getting in the car, she just sat there in silence. "You okay?" Emmett asked. Bella looked over at him and held his hand.

"I just want to go to the cemetery now," she replied quietly.

"Okay," he murmured before driving off.

When they arrived at the cemetery, Emmett got out of the car with Bella right beside him. "You sure?" he asked. She nodded her head slowly and reached over to holding his hand. Immediately he reached out and held her hand in his as they entered the cemetery.

They walked along the path of the many gravestones, but she didn't even glance at them. She knew exactly where to go. She hadn't seen it in two years, but she knew where to go. Finding the gravestone, she walked over and brushed the grass off it. On the top of the gravestone was Edward's picture and underneath it said:

_Edward Anthony Masen_

_Born June 20th, 1987-Died October 31st, 2003_

_Loving Son, Grandson, Husband and Father_

Biting her lower lip, Bella slowly sunk to her knees in front of the gravestone. "Hi…Edward," she said softly. Swallowing hard, she twisted her wedding ring that was still on her left hand. "You know…you should see Eli. He's getting so big, he loves to talk. He just has conversations with everybody about anything and everything. He likes to play with that little piano you gave him when he was like a week old," she commented.

Laughing nervously, she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "When I told you that he was too little to even bang on the keys," she said softly. Sighing, she closed her eyes tight. "I miss you…so much. I wish you could see how much I truly miss you, how much I truly loved…love you," she explained.

Tears welled up in her brown eyes and she let out another shaky breath. "It's not fair that you were taken away from us, it's not fair that you're gone. Why didn't you at least fight to stay alive? You just stared at me trying to talk and I kept telling you not to talk," she told the grave. She wrapped her arms around her middle, rocking back and forth a little. "I'm not supposed to be eighteen and kneeling in front of your grave, this was supposed to happen when I'm like eighty and can't get out of my wheelchair. You weren't supposed to die in my arms that way, you were supposed to be in bed with me, holding me tight as you drew your last breath in your old age," she explained.

She let out a small sob. "We weren't supposed to be apart already, I vowed 'till death', but how can I let that go when I still love you? How can I move on when everything I want was supposed to be with you?" she asked.

Emmett just stood on the side, watching as she cried softly. "We were supposed to grow old together," she told the grave angrily, "and I'm mad at myself because…because I find myself falling for someone." Biting her lower lip, she moved so she was sitting flat in front of the cold, grey stone. "I want to open my heart and love him too, but how can I love someone else when I still feel married to you? Tell me, Edward, tell me what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to let everything we had go and move on with someone else? Am I supposed to let go what we had?" she asked.

Feeling like someone was twisting a knife in her gut, she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "Edward I want to know what to do, because I want to love him, I so badly want to love him. He's such a wonderful man. He takes care of me…and Eli. He loves Eli so much and Eli loves him too. I know he does, that boy's eyes light up when he walks through the door. He's something good that's come out of this Hell, but I still feel like I'm in Hell because I don't know what to do," she added. Letting out a little louder sob, she lowered her head as her shoulders shook.

Walking over, Emmett sat behind her and hugged her. Bella let herself fall back into his embrace and cried. "What am I supposed to do? What?" she asked crying, "tell me Edward, tell me what am I supposed to do." Her hand shook as she looked at her wedding ring, slipping it off her finger and placed it on the top of the grave. "Just give me a sign, please," she begged softly. Emmett kissed the side of her head. "I want to go," she told Emmett.

"Okay," he answered, helping her up.

Emmett held her hand as he led her back to the rental car, going back to their hotel.

When they got back, Bella stood in front of Emmett with a shaky sigh. "Sorry about today," she said softly.

"You had to get the closure you wanted," he answered.

Nodding her head slowly, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh before she held onto his hand. "Stay with me?" she asked. He looked at her, staring into her eyes with concern.

"You sure?" he asked.

Nodding again, she led him to her room.

As they slept that night, Bella had her head resting on Emmett's shoulder, her arm resting over his middle. Emmett had his arms wrapped protectively around her, his forehead resting against the top of her head, and his nose buried into her hair. The sheets were down by their waists, but they were both fully clothed. The only sound that was in the room was the sound of the air conditioner running.

Suddenly, the curtains by the window started moving as if a breeze had gone through them but the window was closed. As Bella slept, she woke up to the feeling of a hand in the middle of her back. Looking up to see if it was Emmett, she saw that he was still asleep. The hair behind her ear was moved slightly. "_Please live a normal…happy life. I love you, forever. I love our son, forever, but please…please be happy_," the voice whispered. Her eyes grew wide and tears welled up in them.

"Edward?" she called, sitting up.

Just like that, the feeling on her back and the breath against her ear was gone. "Edward?" she called again. She froze again when she felt a kiss to her lips.

"_It's okay to love him_," the voice said softly.

Opening her eyes, she stared into a pair of green eyes. "_It's okay, you deserve it, just know that I do love you and Eli, and I'll always love you_," he told her.

"I love you too," she answered with tears streaking down her face.

Edward's ghostly hand touched her cheek lightly and he kissed her forehead. "_Goodbye_," he whispered into her hair and he faded right in front of her. Her breathing was once again ragged and she looked around to see if he was still in the room. Biting her lower lip, tears fell down her face.

"Goodbye, Edward…I love you," she whispered.

Suddenly, felt the bed shift. "Bells…you okay?" Emmett asked sleepily.

"Yeah…I'm fine," she replied.

Moving back up on the bed, she rested her head back on Emmett's shoulder. Emmett's arms immediately went around her slender body again as they both fell asleep in each other's arms again.


	21. Everything's Changing

Chapter 21: Everythings Changing

The next day, Bella was sitting outside of the hotel, twisting her moon ring around on her finger. Emmett walked out with their suitcases. "Hey, ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

Emmett took their bags and put them in the back of the cab that was going to take them to the airport.

As they were driving back, Bella was looking outside and biting her lower lip. Emmett kept glancing over at her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Just thinking," she replied quietly.

"About?" he asked.

Reaching over, he held her hand in his. "Come on Bells talk to me," he murmured. Bella shrugged her shoulders a little.

"I feel a little…scared," she told him.

"About?" he asked.

Bella sighed as she gave his hand a squeeze. "Everything's changing….nothing's the same," she murmured.

"Nothing ever stays the same Bella," he answered.

He kissed the back of her hand. "As much as we want it to stay the same it never does," he told her. Bella bit her lower lip again.

"When we get back…I'm going to have a talk with Johanna," she stated firmly.

He glanced at her surprised. "Really?" he asked. She nodded her head slowly.

"It's not right what she did to you. She might not think what she did was rape because you're a guy and 'guys don't get raped'," she muttered.

"Who told you that?" he asked when he suddenly pulled over.

Sighing, she sat back in her seat. "It's just what a lot of people say. They believe that just because you're guys that rape doesn't exist to you," she replied.

"Oh yeah, it exists obviously," he muttered.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a frustrated sigh. "People can be so…ridiculous Bells. Ridiculous and cruel, you and I experienced the ugly side of people," he told her. Nodding her head slowly, she rested her head on his shoulder. "We're here together though, starting anew," he added.

"I'd like that," she replied.

Closing her eyes, she let out a deep breath. "Let's go home, I have a son that misses me and a daughter that misses you," she said smiling. Emmett chuckled as he started up the car and drove off.

After many long hours of travel, they finally arrived back at home. Emmett drove up to the Swan house and the door flew open. "MAMA!" Eli shouted excitedly. Bella got out of the car with a huge smile, lifting her son up into her arms.

"Hey there cutie," she said smiling, kissing his forehead.

"Miss oo mama," he told her as he hugged her as tight as he could.

Bella smiled as she rubbed his back. "What about me?" Emmett asked.

"Hi Em!" Eli answered as he went to hug him.

Emmett hugged him back with a smile, rubbing the little boy's back as well. "Well as much as I'd like to stay, I can't. I have a little girl waiting for me," he commented.

"Give Dana a kiss for me," Bella answered.

"Sure will," he told her with a wink before getting into his car and driving off.

Bella smiled as she kissed the top of her son's head and went inside.

Two days later, Bella was back at work and was feeling a little lighter than how she was before she went to Phoenix. As she was going through inventory, she heard the bell on the door ding. "I'll be right with you," she commented as she walked to the front. She stopped when she noticed Johanna standing there. "Johanna…" she started slowly.

"Bella," the other girl answered.

If looks could kill, Bella knew she would be dead with the glare the girl was giving her. "So…what's up?" she asked.

"You stay away from Emmett," Johanna said suddenly.

The smaller girl jumped back surprised. What?" she asked.

"You heard me, stay away from Emmett. He's MINE," Johanna snapped.

Bella furrowed her brow as she went behind the counter. "Last time I checked, Emmett was single and you wanted nothing to do with Dana," Bella answered.

"What does that little brat have to do with anything? Emmett's mine," she snapped.

Johanna leaned in closer. "If I find out that you stole him away, you'll be sorry," she hissed. Bella watched as the girl turned and left the store after that.

Across the small town, Emmett was in the park playing with Dana. Dana was lying back on the blanket her daddy had laid out for her and was gurgling and giggling up a storm at the faces he was making. "Who's daddy's big girl huh? Who's the most beautiful baby in the world?" he cooed. Dana just continued to make little noises, gurgling and making spit bubbles.

Chuckling, he kissed her button nose while her tiny hands tried to wrap around his large fingers. "Oh Emmett," a voice called. Looking up, Emmett saw Johanna walk over.

"Hi Johanna," he answered before looking back down at his daughter.  
>"Aww Emmy, is that all I get?" she pouted as she squatted down.<p>

Emmett raised his blue eyes. "Hi Johanna, bye Johanna," he replied before lifting Dana up into his arms.

"Aw come on Emmy," the girl whined.

The young man winced at the shrilly voice piercing through his eardrums. He knew it was bothering his daughter since she began to whimper and cry. "Johanna, just do me a favor and leave me alone," he told her.

"Now why would I do that?" she asked as she leaned against his jeep while he put Dana into her car seat.

Emmett looked at her. "How about for the fact I remember that night at the party," he answered.

"Oh come on it was just a little fun," she told him.

Reaching up, she dragged her fingers along his arms. "Don't pretend you didn't like it," she hissed into his ear. Emmett jerked away.

"How about I've been telling you 'no' since the day I met you? I had a girlfriend at the time," he answered with a glare as he closed the door.

He gathered the rest of Dana's things, putting them into his jeep. "Except I made you feel good," she told him trying to be seductive. Except, her ways were just making his skin crawl.

"You made my skin crawl then, Johanna, and you are now," he answered.

"My god men are such babies," Johanna muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Closing the trunk of his jeep, he gave her a glare. "Stay away from me," he told her.

"You said that before," she answered smiling.

Emmett froze as he went to get into his jeep.

_**The party was loud, there was smoking and drinking everywhere. Emmett was sitting on a couch with his arm around Rosalie. "Hello Emmett," Johanna greeted over the music. Rosalie just rolled her eyes as she rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.**_

_**"Go away Johanna," Emmett answered as he ran his hand over Rosalie's hip.**_

_**"Aw Emmett, you going to be a party pooper?" Johanna asked as she stood behind him, "We could have fun."**_

_**Rosalie looked up in disgust as the other girl tried to feel her boyfriend up. "How about you get away from my boyfriend?" she demanded, standing up.**_

_**"Oh right like he's going to stay with you," Johanna answered as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Since you're nothing but used goods."**_

_**Emmett stood up with an angry expression on his face. "If you ever say that again, you will regret it!" he snapped. He held onto Rosalie's hand as they went to go through the rest of the crowd. "Stay away form me Johanna!" he called to her.**_

Emmett shook his head slowly to try to get rid of the memories of that night. Reaching up, he touched his forehead when he felt a hand crawl up his back. "I got you once, I will get you again," she hissed into his ear before walking away.

Looking up, he watched her sashay away as if she was trying to show him what he was missing out. Shaking his head slowly, he got into his jeep and tilted his head back with a frustrated sigh. Looking into the rearview mirror, he saw Dana looking at him with watery blue eyes. "We're going to go home baby," he told his daughter. Starting the jeep up, he drove off back toward his house.

When Emmett pulled up to the driveway, he saw Rosalie's red mustang in his parking spot. Sighing, he got out of the car and got Dana out before going up to the house. Opening the door, he looked around. "Mom, I'm home," he called out. Walking over to the playpen, he placed his daughter in it and she immediately started playing with the toys around her.

"Hey Emmett," Rosalie greeted smiling.

"Hey Rosie," he answered.

Hugging his now best friend tight, he rubbed her back. "Welcome home," she told him as she hugged him back.

"Good to be home, how's everything with you?" he asked as he let her go.

"Everything's going great. I actually have something to tell you," she replied.

"Alright share," he told her as they sat down.

Rosalie smiled at him. "So, you know I've been working on my modeling career?" she asked.

"Yep, heard it from Alice and Jasper," he replied.

"Well, last week while you were in Phoenix, I got a call from a real modeling agent," she replied.

Emmett's eyes grew wide. "Wow Rosalie, that's great!" he told her, hugging her again. Rosalie hugged him back with a smile.

"I'm going to Paris," she added quietly.

Hugging her tighter, his smile only grew. "That's great, Rosalie, congratulations," he told her. Rosalie hugged him back with a smile. Once they let each other go, they sat on the couch talking about his trip to Phoenix and her upcoming trip to Paris. All the while they had no idea that outside stood Johanna with a glare.


	22. Frightening Images

Chapter 22: Frightening Images

_**Bella opened her eyes and let out a gasp when she saw that she was standing in the middle of a wedding reception. Looking around, her heart was fluttering in her chest. Looking over, she felt tears press against her eyes when Emmett walked over to her in his tux. "My beautiful wife," he said smiling.**_

_**"Emmett…" she whispered.**_

_**He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lovingly. Bella kissed him back, her hand on his cheek. His hands were moving over her stomach with a smile. "I love you," he whispered.**_

_**"I love you," she replied.**_

_**Except, suddenly she saw Emmett's eyes grow wide. "Emmett?" she asked. She felt something warm and sticky on her hand, she saw blood. She let out a scream when Emmett collapsed and she was holding onto him as she fell to the ground. Looking up, she saw Johanna there with fire in her eyes.**_

_**"He's mine!" she hissed**_.

Bella woke up with a gasp, her hair stuck to her forehead as she was lying back gasping for air. Looking at her clock, she saw that it was time to get up.

When she got into to work that morning, the young woman was completely exhausted. "You okay Bells?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine just tired," she replied with a long yawn.

"The kid keeping you up?" he asked.

Bella furrowed her brow. "No," she replied.

"Well I heard kids keeps their parents up at night," he commented.

"Yeah…when they're newborns," she replied slowly.

Sighing, she pushed her hair from her eyes when the bell to the store rang and Emmett walked in. "Hey," she said smiling.

"Hey beautiful," Emmett answered.

Walking over to her, he smiled at her. "You okay?" he asked, noticing that she looked exhausted.

"Yeah…" she replied slowly.

Emmett touched her face. "Come on baby, don't shut me out now," he whispered.

"Can we talk after work please?" she asked.

Emmett leaned forward, press a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you after work," he told her. He touched her cheek gently with a smile.

Bella smiled a little, nodding her head slowly as Emmett left the store.

After closing up that night, Bella left, pushing her hair behind her ear. Looking over, she saw Emmett leaning against his jeep waiting for her. "Thought you had a short shift tonight?" he asked.

"I asked to stay longer," she murmured.

"To try to get yourself out of talking to me?" he asked with a half-smirk.

Bella bit her lower lip, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "Bella, come on, talk to me," he insisted walking over to her.

"You'll find it stupid," she replied.

Emmett rubbed her shoulders lightly. "Baby, come on," he murmured.

"I'm scared, Emmett," she answered.

"Why?" he asked.

She gripped his hands tightly, swallowing hard as she told him about the nightmare she had the previous night. "Oh Bells…" Emmett murmured, hugging her tight. She hugged him back with tears in her eyes.

"I don't want to lose you like I lost Edward," she said tearfully.

Emmett hushed her softly, swaying from side to side a little with her in his arms. "Come on, you're not driving home," he told her as he lifted her up into his arms and carried her over to his jeep.

Driving to his house, Emmett looked over to see Bella asleep with her head leaning against the window. He had called and told Charlie that Bella was going to stay at his place. Eli was asleep in his car seat as Emmett drove to the Cullen home.

When he arrived, he got Eli out first and placed the sleeping boy into his mother's arms. Esme took Eli inside while Emmett lifted Bella up into his arms and carried her to his room.

Placing her on the bed, he stroked her dark curls with a sad frown. There were tear stains on her cheeks from when she was crying so much. He stroked her cheek softly and rested his forehead against hers. Slowly, Bella began to wake up to see Emmett beside her. "Sorry…I didn't mean to fall asleep," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, "Eli's here, he's asleep in the room mom and Alice had made for him."

Smiling sadly, she let out a sigh as Emmett held her hand in his. "Bella, I know you're scared of losing me. I know that you have a lot of fears, but I promise you, I won't leave you," he whispered. Tears fell down her face again. "I love you, I will never leave you," he added. He eyes grew wide at his confession, the confession he had been wanting to say for so long since the day he had met her.

"Y-You love me?" she asked.

Nodding his head slowly, he kissed her knuckles lightly. "I love you so much," he whispered. He stroked her hair lightly. "I know you're probably not ready to say it back, but I will wait for you. I have time and I am never leaving," he explained. Sniffling, she reached up and hugged him tightly around his neck. Hugging her back, he rested his forehead against the side of her head as he rubbed her back lovingly. He would wait forever for her, she was worth waiting for.

After awhile, Bella fell back to sleep and Emmett walked downstairs to find his mother there. "Is she alright?" Esme asked.

"She'll be okay, she's just so stressed out and confused," he replied.

Esme nodded her head slowly as she followed her son into the kitchen. "Sweetheart, have I told you how proud I am of you?' she asked, resting her hand on his back.

"Not lately," he replied with a slight laugh as he leaned back against the counter.

"Well, I'm very proud of you, Emmett. Not just for being a dad to both Dana and Eli, but for being there for this girl. She's obviously needed someone," she explained.

Nodding his head slowly, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I love her mom and I just told her," he said quietly. Esme rested her hand on her son's cheek. "I don't even think I said those words to Rosie," he added.

"Oh sweetie…" Esme whispered, hugging her son tight.

Emmett hugged her back, closing his eyes tight. "I'll wait for her mom, I'll wait for until the end of time if I have to. She's worth waiting for," he answered.

"She'll love you back, Emmett. I'm sure of it, she just needs time," she answered, rubbing his back.

Agreeing with what his mother said, he closed his eyes and hugged his mother tight. He could only hope that confessing his feelings for Bella could help her see that there is something worth living for.


	23. Late Night Conversations

Chapter 23: Late Night Conversations

Winter came again, snow covered the ground and Bella was standing outside the Cullen home watching as Eli was playing with Alice and Jasper, who were helping him build a snowman. "So, he's asking for Santa to bring him a remote control racecar," Emmett commented as he walked out of the house, handing her a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thanks, yea I know. He just ran up to me like five minutes ago asking for it," she said laughing a little.

Grinning, the two of them sat down on the porch step. "My mom's sure enjoying having kids around the house," he commented.

"I can tell, she spoils Eli rotten," Bella answered.

"Well, it keeps her from worrying about me," he murmured.

Bella looked over at him, resting her head on her hand. "About the whole Johanna thing?" she asked.

"What else?" he asked with a sigh.

Sighing, she placed her cup on the porch and leaned back on her hands. "We're going to catch her, Em," she assured him.

"It's just taking forever," he muttered, "They have nothing of the party because I reported it so late."

Bella reached over, holding his gloved hand between hers. "It doesn't matter…Emmett, you didn't deserve it," she murmured.

"I know," he answered.

She ran her thumb over the back of his hand, resting her head on his shoulder. "Hey…" he said quietly.

"Yeah?" she asked.

Looking up, at him, her brown eyes locked with his blue eyes. They stared at each other for awhile and as Emmett leaned forward to kiss her, a little body crashed into her. "MAMA! Come play!" Eli insisted excitedly. With a flushed face, she looked over to see Jasper and Alice looking at the two of them. The petite young woman was giving her friend a knowing smile.

"I have to get to work, I'll see you later," Emmett told her as he stood up.

"Bye Em!" Eli called out, waving his tiny hand.

"See ya buddy," Emmett answered before he got into his jeep and drove off.

Getting off the porch, Bella went to go play in the snow with her son. "Well, looks like Eli had bad timing," Alice commented. Bella's face flushed and she cleared her throat.

"I-It was nothing," she answered.

"My brother tells you he loves you and the fact he almost kisses you is nothing?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bella bit her lower lip as she started helping Eli finish putting the decorations on his snowman. "It's complicated, Alice," she insisted, "With this stuff with Johanna and…"

"The fact you still think of Edward?" Alice finished as she tied a scarf around the snowman's neck.

Bella stalled and chewed on her lower lip. "From the way you spoke about Edward, it sounds like he wouldn't have been the kind of guy to have you to miss out on being happy," she commented. As her friend's words echoed through her head, she looked out at Eli to see him throwing snowballs at Jasper.

"_It's okay to love him_," Edward's voice echoed through her head.

"He wasn't, Edward was very selfless," Bella said quietly.

Alice rested her hand on his arm. "Do you love my brother?" she asked suddenly. Bella looked over at her and wrapped her arms around herself as she thought over Alice's question.

"Emmett's been so great with everything, he took me to Phoenix to confront Edward's killer and to say goodbye to Edward. He's helped me with Eli in so many ways," she murmured.

"I didn't ask if you liked my brother, I'm asking if you love him," Alice told her, putting her hands on her hips.

Bella looked over to see Eli sitting on Jasper's shoulders as they went back to the house. "I don't know…I'm very confused Alice. I mean, there was my husband that I had been with since I was sixteen. I lost him so fast it literally made my head spin. Then Emmett comes into my life, he's so sweet and caring. He knows exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it, he's just…the greatest guy I ever met," she explained.

"It sounds like you love him," Alice answered.

Twisting her rings around on her necklace, she let out a deep breath. "_It's okay to love him_," the words repeated in her head again.

"I'll have to think about if I love him," she answered before going inside.

That night, Bella was again sleeping over at the Cullen's house since Charlie decided to go on the Reservation for a fishing trip with Billy. She was asleep in her guest room and her dreams filled her head.

Bella found herself in a misty area, looking around. "Hello?" she called.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked behind her.

_Turning around, she saw Edward standing behind her with his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning against the building of some sort. "Edward…" she whispered._

_"What are you doing Bella?" he asked._

_"What do you mean?" she asked._

_Walking over to her, he touched her face lightly. "I told you that it was okay to love him, gave you my full blessing, yet you are fighting your feelings," he commented._

_"It's because I'm scared to forget you," she replied with tears in her eyes._

_Swallowing hard, she gripped his hands tightly. "What if I do admit my feelings for Emmett? We live happily ever after like you want, but I'm scared that Eli will forget you," she explained. Edward shook his head slowly._

_"Impossible," he said quietly._

_"How is it impossible? He was just a baby when you were stolen from us," she said with tears in her eyes._

_Edward stroked the tears from her cheeks. "You really don't see it do you?" he asked._

_"See what?" she asked._

_Rubbing her arms gently, he let out a sigh. "Tomorrow night, watch Emmett tuck Eli to bed. Your fears of me being forgotten will go away," he told her. Taking her hands, he kissed her knuckles. "Bella, you need to promise me that you'll open your heart to him," he whispered._

_"I'm scared to," she whispered._

_"I know you are, but I'm here to tell you that it's okay," he answered, "I love you and I just want you to be happy."_

_They looked over to see a golden light pouring to the left of them. It was so bright, Bella had to shield her eyes. "I have to go," he whispered, "Just remember that I'm never gone." He rested his hand over her heart. "I'm here and in our son," he added. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against hers. Bella kissed him back, resting her hand on his cheek. Pulling away, he kissed her forehead. "Goodbye, Bella," he whispered. Bella watched as he walked over to the light._

_"I love you," she answered._

_Stopping, he looked at her with his infamous crooked smile. "I love you," he told her before the light became so bright, Bella had to close her eyes._

Opening her eyes, Bella sat up and looked around. Swallowing hard, she leaned back against the headboard of her bed and let out a shaky breath.

The next night, instead of just going downstairs to read, she went upstairs to do as Edward had asked. Walking down the hall, she saw that Eli's room was empty. Furrowing her brow, she was about to call out for Emmett when she heard the television going in his room.

Making her way down the hall to Emmett's room, she peeked in to see Emmett sitting on his large bed with Eli cuddled up beside him with his tiny arm over Emmett's stomach. They were staring at the television and Bella looked over to see what they were watching. What she saw brought tears to her eyes.

_**Edward was sitting at his piano with a sleepy Eli in the crook of his arm. "You are really going to play piano with one hand?" Bella asked behind the camera. He looked up with a crooked grin.**_

_**"It calms him," he answered.**_

_**The camera focused on Eli who was watching as his father's hand was gliding across the keys as he was playing some of "Claire de Lune". "What's daddy doing?" Bella asked behind the camera. Eli just yawned in response and fell asleep with his head pillowed on his father's chest. Edward stopped playing the piano and kissed his son's soft forehead.**_

_**"Goodnight Eli," he said quietly.**_

Bella looked over at Eli to see him waving at the television. "Night daddy," he answered. Emmett turned the DVD off.

"Alright shrimp, time for bed," he commented.

Quickly, Bella moved down to the living room while Emmett went to get Eli into bed.

When Emmett walked downstairs, he saw Bella sitting on the couch with tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. Letting out a deep breath, she looked over at him.

"W-Where did you get those home movies?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Emmett rubbed the back of his neck. "Eli said he wanted to see his dad one night and that he wanted to know what he sounded like. Your dad gave me the DVD's you had sent him. He really likes the one where Edward's playing the piano," he replied. Wiping the tears from her eyes, sniffling.

"How long have you been doing that?" she asked.

"The last few months…he goes right to sleep after that," he replied, "Were you watching too?"

Bella swallowed hard as she got up and walked over to him. "What you are doing with Eli, to keep Edward's memory alive. I never even thought of doing that," she told him. Emmett stroked the hair from her eyes.

Looking up into his eyes, Bella let out a shaky breath. "Thank you," she whispered, "Not just for the DVD's but for everything you've done for Eli and me."

"I'd do anything for you," he answered.

She nodded her head slowly. "I'm starting to see how true that is," she whispered. Cupping her face in his hands, Emmett leaned forward and captured her lips with his. Resting her hands on his arms, she moved them up and wrapped them around his neck as she kissed him back. She gasped softly into the kiss when she felt electric shocks run up and down her spine. The last person that made her feel that way was Edward.

Pulling away, Emmett rested his forehead against hers while moving his hands down to her waist. "I'm falling for you," she told him, her eyes still locked with his.

"Good, because I love you," he whispered.

Hugging him tight, she closed her eyes tight as he lifted her up of the floor and held her in his arms, never once letting her go. For the first time in two years, she felt completely safe and almost whole again.


	24. Going too Far

Chapter 24: Going too Far

Bella smiled as she walked out of the house with Eli sitting on her hip. Eli was holding his toy dragon in his hand. "Time for daycare," she murmured as she placed her son into his car seat.

"Momma wiw oo pick me up?" he asked.

"Yep, I'll see you after work baby," Bella replied, kissing her son's forehead.

She walked over to the driver's side window and smiled at Emmett. "I'll see you later," she told him.

"See you later beautiful," he answered.

Resting his hand on the back of her head, he kissed her softly. Bella kissed him back, resting her hand on the side of his neck. Pulling back, he smiled at her before she stepped back and he backed out of the driveway. Smiling, she watched him drive off to drop Eli off at daycare and she went to get ready for work.

As she got ready for work, she looked over to see Dana playing on her floor, shaking her toy giraffe that had a bell in it. "What are you doing pretty girl?" she cooed as she kneeled in front of the child. Dana just gurgled, clapping her hands excitedly. Smiling, she kissed the top of the baby's head.

Walking down the stairs, Bella pushed her hair from her eyes when there was a knock on the door. "Who could that be…" she murmured. Making her way over to the door, she saw that it was Renee. "Mom?" she asked shocked.

"Hey baby," Renee said smiling, hugging her daughter.

Still stunned, Bella hugged her back. "Wow…hi…what are you doing here? I thought you were in Jacksonville? How did you find me?" Bella asked.

"I'm here to see my daughter and grandson. I'm just here for a visit. Your dad told me that you practically moved in here," Renee replied.

Bella laughed a little. "Bella, who's there?" Esme asked as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Oh um…mom this is Esme Cullen, she's been very helpful with everything. Esme this is my mom, Renee Dwyer," Bella informed the two women.  
>"Bella has told me so much about you, it's nice to finally meet you," Esme said smiling, shaking her hand.<p>

"The same," Renee replied smiling.

"Why don't you come in and get out of the cold?" Esme suggested.

Renee laughed as she walked into the house when crying could be heard upstairs. "That can't be Eli," Renee commented.

"Oh, no, that would be Dana. I'll be back," Bella replied.

She hurried upstairs to find Dana sitting on the floor pouting that she wasn't there to give her attention. "Aw what's the matter buggy?" she asked, lifting the baby up. She kissed her forehead with a smile. "Come on, there's someone here you should meet," she cooed as she carried the baby downstairs.

Walking over to the two women in the living room, she smiled. "Mom, this is Dana, Emmett's daughter," she told her mother.

"Oh…she's even more beautiful than how you described her to me, Bella," Renee said smiling.

Dana babbled and was clapping her hands together, making Bella laugh. "Oh how precious," Renee cooed to the baby as she held her arms out to hold the baby. The young woman smiled, placing Dana into her mother's arms. "Oh look at you, aren't you the prettiest baby girl in the world," she cooed, making Dana gurgled, "Next to you of course Bella."

"Yeah…thanks," Bella said laughing.

"Look at those dimples!" Renee exclaimed brightly.

"She got those from her daddy," Esme answered smiling.

Renee smiled as the baby was touching her face curiously. "So where's my grandson?" Renee asked.

"You just missed him, Emmett took him to daycare," Bella replied.  
>"Aw, that's disappointing," Renee said with a slight pout.<p>

Bella laughed a little at her reaction. "Well I'll be picking him up from work," she assured her mother.

"Oh, then I probably shouldn't stay much longer. I'd hate to be a bother," she commented.

"Nonsense, stay as long as you like. It'll be nice to talk to another adult," Esme answered.

Seeing her mother's face light up at the idea of being able to stay to chitchat, Bella stood up from the couch. "I'll see you later mom," she told Renee, hugging her.

"See you later baby," Renee answered.

Bella smiled before she kissed Dana on the top of her head and left.

Emmett was working on one of his other jobs. He was redoing the shingles on a roof when a car pulled up. Wiping the drops of rain from his face, he looked over to see that it was Joanna. "Well, well, what a look," Joanna said with a grin.

"What do you want?" he asked as he went back to work.

"I came to talk to you," she replied.

"We've said enough to each other, you've done enough to me as it is," he told her.

He pulled off another shingle, tossing it to the ground and Joanna gasped, jumping out of the way. "Emmett! You almost hit me!" she exclaimed.

"Damn I missed," he muttered, going back to work.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded.

"What? Am I supposed to be excited to see you?" he asked.

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

"Forgive me for not leaping for excitement I'm on a roof," he told her.

Joanna grinned as she climbed up the ladder. "I'm working Joanna go away," he insisted.

"I like a little danger," she told him.

"Yeah, come any closer and you're going to see a whole different side of danger," he answered.

Emmett kept trying to work, trying to ignore this girl. "Come on Emmy we had some fun," she insisted. Walking over to him carefully, she started dragging her fingers over his shoulders.

"Get away from me," he told her, pulling away.

Getting up, he glared at her. "What the hell do you want? I don't have anything to give you," he snapped.

"Sure you do," she replied.

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt, before he could react she yanked him close to her and he felt their pelvises crash together. "We had fun before," she purred, purposely letting her lips brush against his as she spoke. Gripping her shoulders, Emmett forced her to step back.

"Go away," he told her.

Climbing down the ladder, he just wanted to get this job done and get home. Except with Joanna there he knew that was going to be next to impossible to do. "Emmett come back," Joanna said laughing. He had left a note in the mailbox, letting his customer know that he would be back later. Grabbing his jacket off his work bench. Before he could get into his jeep, Joanna grabbed him, forcing him to stop. "Oh don't be such a baby," she told him with a glare. With him caught off guard, she was able to shove him back against the truck. "Why must you ruin the fun and do things the hard way?" she demanded.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he answered.

Suddenly he felt something get shoved into his side and his eyes grew wide. "Just because I didn't want the brat that came out of our last union doesn't mean I'm done with you," she told him. Emmett shoved her backwards.

"Get the hell away!" he snapped.

He ripped the syringe from his side and fumbled to find his car keys. His vision began to blur and his heart started to race. "No," he groaned. Hurrying away, he could hear Joanna laughing as he stumbled down the muddy trail.

If he could at least get to town before the rest of whatever she injected him with kicked in, he knew he could escape this crazy woman.

He walked for what felt like forever when the drug kicked in the rest of the way and he collapsed to the ground, darkness claiming him almost immediately.

Bella was taking the back roads to work when she noticed that someone was lying on the side of the road. "What the hell…" she trailed off. Pulling to the side of the road, she got out of her truck and ran over to the person. She let out a gasp when she recognized who it was. "Emmett!" she called with wide eyes. She turned him onto his back with all her might, placing her hands on his face. "EMMETT!" she shouted.

"No…no," he groaned in his unconscious state.

Panicking, Bella looked around. "EMMETT!" she could hear Joanna shout.

"Oh no," she whispered.

Grabbing her phone, she hit speed dial. "Hey Bells, long time no here," Jacob commented.

"Jake, I need your help," Bella told him panicked.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jacob asked.

Bella had tears pressing hard against her eyes. "Someone's attacked Emmett, he's unconscious and I can't get him to wake up. I think he's been drugged and I can't move him to my truck. Please Jacob, she's coming," she said panicked.

"I'm coming," Jacob answered, "Where are you?"

Bella gave him the direction and she pulled Emmett into her arms. "Come on Emmett, wake up, please," she whispered.

"Oh Emmett!" she heard Joanna call.

"Please wake up," she whispered.

Having no choice, she grabbed Emmett by his jacket. "Please adrenaline rush kick in now," she told herself. She dragged Emmett into the trees, hoping Joanna couldn't find them. With Emmett in her arms, she held him close. "Help's coming Emmett, help's coming," she whispered, touching his face.

She held Emmett close like this for what felt like hours. She could still hear Joanna screaming for Emmett when she heard a motorcycle speed down the street. Getting up, she placed Emmett down on the ground and ran to the street. "JAKE!" she shouted, jumping up and down. Jacob pulled up and got off his bike.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Over here," she replied.

Just as she led Jacob over to where she brought Emmett, she could see Joanna at the end of the dirt road. "Hurry! She's coming," she said panicked. Jacob let out a deep breath.

"This guy towers me you know that right?" Jacob asked.

"Jake just come on!" she exclaimed when Joanna started running at them.

"Shit!" Jacob exclaimed.

Grabbing Emmett by his arm, he was at least able to get him up off the ground and dragged him over to the truck. "Hospital, now," Bella told Jacob as she got into the truck. Jacob got onto his bike just as Joanna reached the street.

"SWAN! HE'S MINE!" Joanna screamed.

Having no choice but to stomp on the gas pedal, she could only hope that her truck didn't give out. She gasped when her truck lurched forward before she and Jacob sped off down the road.

Hours later, Emmett woke up to his vision blurry. He could hear an EKG machine beeping and he realized his side burned as well as the side of his face. "Emmett?" Bella asked softly. Her voice sounded so far away. "Emmett, can you hear me?" she asked.

Focusing his eyes, he saw Bella in front of him. "Bella…" he said slowly.

"Hey," Bella said softly.

She touched his good cheek lightly. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked.

He shook his head briefly, but then he remembered Joanna. "Joanna…" he groaned as he tried to sit up.

"No don't get up, the doctors said she nearly overdosed you with a sedative," she replied.

"No wonder why I feel like I got hit by a freight train," he muttered, "Why the hell does my face feel like it was dragged over a cheese grater?"

Bella bit her lower lip. "You hit the pavement when the drug kicked in…it scraped your face up, but that'll heal," she assured him. Emmett closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath.

"Joanna…" he started again.  
>"My dad and the police went to arrest her for assault but she was gone. They're searching for her," she replied.<p>

Closing his eyes, he let out a sigh. "I'm such a weak idiot," he muttered.

"No, she's just crazy," she replied.

Letting out a deep breath, Bella kissed the back of his hand. "I'm just so glad you're okay," she told him, hugging him tight. Emmett hugged her back, resting his forehead against the side of her head.

"I said I wasn't going to leave you, I intend on keeping that promise," he whispered.

He hugged her tight, letting out a deep breath. Bella curled up against his side as the two of them sat in complete silence.


	25. True Feelings

Chapter 25: True Feelings

Bella smiled as she was watching Emmett play with Eli. The little boy was laughing like crazy as Emmett was tickling his stomach. She looked down at Dana who was chewing on a teething ring while gurgling and laughing. It was almost like the perfect family picture. Bella held her hand out and Dana's tiny hand touched hers. "Mommy! Wook!" Eli called out.

Looking up, Bella furrowed her brow when she saw a familiar black car drive up the Cullen driveway. Emmett stood up from the ground, letting Eli sit on his hip while Bella did the same to Dana. "Bella, hello," Elizabeth greeted as she got out of the car.

"Elizabeth…" Bella said slowly.

Dana stared curiously as the woman walked up. "I see you have another little one," she commented.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked.

"Do I need a reason to see my grandson?" Elizabeth asked, looking over at Eli who was sitting on Emmett's hip, extremely confused.

Bella frowned. "You wouldn't have if you actually acted like a grandmother, instead of trying to kick me and Eli out of Edward's life," Bella replied.

"Must you bring up the past?" Elizabeth asked, sounding bored.

Dana whimpered softly from the tension. "I need to change her and put her down for her nap," she murmured before going inside.

Emmett looked at Eli who was beginning to doze, signaling it was also time for his nap. "Hey buddy, why don't you go ask mama for a naptime story?" he asked.

"Stowy!" he said beaming.

Chuckling, he set the boy down and watched as he ran inside the house. He was grateful that his parents were out of town and Alice was over at Jasper's for the day. The last thing he needed was Elizabeth trying to make it seem like Bella was using his family's kindness for only their money. "So, you must be the young man Isabella is manipulating," Elizabeth commented.

"Bella hasn't done a thing, only been a good girlfriend and a good mother to these kids," Emmett answered.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Isn't it funny, how my son was once a rich man, but now dead. You are also a wealthy man, Mr. Cullen," she commented.

"My parents are wealthy, I make my own way. They're only letting me stay here so I can raise my daughter," he answered.

"Why, yes of course that's exactly why Bella is only around, don't you find it odd she's only been with two men? Both rich?" she asked.

Emmett stared at the woman in front of her. "If you are implying that Bella is a greedy gold digger, then you don't know her at all. In fact, from what Bella has told me you never took the time to get to know Bella," he commented.

"She purposely got pregnant so she could swindle my son out of his inheritance!" Elizabeth snapped.

The young man glared at her. "You will not come to my parents' house and insult a wonderful woman like Bella in front of me. You think you're the only one who lost someone? Imagine how Bella feels everyday. The fact her son is going to grow up never knowing his father, I can only do so much. When that boy gets older he's going to ask about his dad and we will have to look into that innocent face and tell him that evil, horrible men murdered his father right in front of his mother," he said angrily. He stood right in front of her. "Bella loved him," he added.

"It should've been her that died that night," Elizabeth snarled, "I want what is rightfully mine!"

Emmett stared at her. "You mean Eli?" he asked.

"Eli is my son's son, I have a right to him!" Elizabeth replied.

"Bella carried that baby for nine months, gave birth, and has been raising him. She has more right to that child than you will ever have," he told her, "And you only want to be part of his life because Bella put all of his father's money into a trust fund."

The woman was once again silent. "Get out of my driveway before I have the cops here with a tow truck to force you out," he told her before going into the house.

Bella was sitting in the living room when Emmett walked in. "Is she still out there?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied as he sat beside her, "But she won't be coming in."

The young woman frowned as she just stared at the hardwood floor. "I'm sorry, for pulling you into this drama I call my life," she murmured.

"My life isn't exactly drama-free Bells," he answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Sighing, Bella rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head while hugging her close to him. "I love you," he whispered. She hugged him tight around the waist, closing her eyes.

"I love you too Em," she answered.

He ran his fingers through her hair and let out a sigh as they just sat in silence. "Why can't she just leave me alone? Why does she have to come back and bother me?" she murmured.

"I don't know," he said quietly.

He kissed the top of her head, moving his hand over her back.

Bella sighed as she was standing in the park while Eli was running around giggling up a storm. The little boy bent down and picked something up before running back over to her. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she squatted down. "What do you have?" she asked.

"Wook mama," he told her, holding up a dead dandelion.

Smiling, Bella looked at the little boy. "You know what you do with those fuzzies?" she asked.

"What?" he asked.

"You make a wish and blow on them. If you can blow them all out, your wish will come true," she replied smiling.

The young woman watched as her son closed his eyes before he blew as hard as he could on the dandelion. "What did you wish for baby?" she asked.

"No teww," he replied, making her smile.

Eli stood up on his tippy toes and kissed his mother on the cheek before hugging her tight. Bella hugged him back, kissing his forehead softly. "Mama loves you, very, very much," she whispered.

"Wuv oo mama," he replied.

Sighing, she rested her forehead against the top of her baby boy's head. She picked him up when it was time go back home. Turning around, she saw Elizabeth standing there. "Will you just leave us alone?" she asked.

"I asked you that when you started dating my son, how does it feel to have your son stalked?" Elizabeth asked.

"I didn't stalk him, if anything Edward pursued me," she replied.

Walking over to her truck, Bella put Eli into his booster seat. "Mama sippy?" he asked. Reaching into his bag, she pulled out his sippy cup that had a lion's head, handing it to him.

"I want time with my grandson," Elizabeth answered.

"Edward begged you to do that when he was alive. I lost count of all the times he held Eli out to you, hoping you would give his son a glance," Bella told her quietly.

She closed the truck door so Eli wouldn't hear. "Except all you did was stress me out throughout my whole pregnancy. I almost lost him twice, remember that? I was almost on bed rest because of your cruelty, to the point Edward bought a house of our own so you could stop with your constant subtle insults," she said angrily.

"You stole my child away!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

No, I only loved him. Riley stole him," she answered, "He stole Edward from all of us."

Bella swallowed hard, not wanting to waste anymore energy on this woman. "Just go away Elizabeth, leave us alone like how you wanted me to leave you alone," she added before going on the other side of the truck and drove off once she got in.

That night, Bella was sitting in the bedroom she shared with Emmett, staring at the far wall when he walked in. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, walking in.

"Yeah," she replied softly.

He stripped down to his black boxer briefs and got into bed. Bella leaned against her hand while resting her other hand on his chest. "How long do you think Elizabeth's going to be staying?" he asked.

"I don't know, long enough to find out if I'm going to relent and let her take Eli for a day or something," she replied.

Emmett moved his thumb over her wrist, staring up at her while resting his other arm behind his head. "You know, Edward would tell me how he couldn't stand his controlling parents. He moved to Chicago to live with his grandparents who gave him the freedom of deciding his own future," she explained quietly.

"He sounds like he was a good man," he answered.

"As are you," she said quietly.

She bit her lower lip as she stared down at him. "I don't know a lot of guys who are willing to take care of another man's child as well as wait patiently for a girl who still loves her dead husband," she murmured.

"Babe, Edward was a huge part of your life. It'd be selfish of me to make it so you couldn't talk about him. That's part of the healing process, talking, especially when it's good things about him to Eli. I'm here when you need me, I'll back off when you don't need me anymore," he explained.

Bella shook her head slowly. "I'll always need you," she said softly, "I love you." Moving his arm around her back, he rested his hand in the small of her back as she leaned forward and kissed him. He kissed her back, deepening the kiss as he pulled her closer if it were possible. What they didn't see were a pair of glaring eyes staring at them through the window before their spy left them alone.


	26. The Obsession

Chapter 26: The Obsession

Another year had passed, Dana was now a year and a half old while Eli was three, actually just turned three it was his birthday. Emmett had plans of opening his own construction company. Bella was taking classes in community college to get her own business degree so she could open her own bookstore.

When Bella arrived home from class one day, she smiled to see Eli outside playing. "Mommy!" Eli said beaming, running over to his mother with his little arms wide open.

"Hey buddy," she said smiling as she caught her son up in her arms, swinging the giggling child around.

Emmett drove up in his truck and Dana's blue eyes grew wide. "Dada!" she exclaimed, opening her arms wide for him from her blanket.

"Hey baby girl," he cooed, lifting his daughter up into his arms.

Esme was standing there with a smile. "Hey you two," she greeted. Emmett kissed his mother's cheek with a smile. Bella smile as she walked into the house with her son in her arms. "There's the birthday boy!" Esme said smiling, tickling the boy's sides. Eli giggled, trying to wriggle away from her arms. Bella smiled, kissing her son's forehead.

"Yes, happy birthday Eli," a voice said behind her.

Bella frowned when she turned around to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway. "I told you to stay away!" Bella snapped.

"He is my grandson, I came to wish him happy birthday," Elizabeth answered, placing a gift on the table.

Emmett frowned, wrapping his arm around Bella's waist. "You aren't welcome here Mrs. Masen," Emmett told her.

"Quiet, I wasn't talking to you," she answered.

Bella frowned and Eli looked at his mother. "Mama I wanna pway," he told her.

"Okay," Bella answered.

She set her son on the floor and he ran off to play. "I'm talking to you now, you have no business being around here," Bella told the woman.

"Eli's my grandson," Elizabeth told her.

"You didn't care until after Edward died, so please leave," Bella answered.

Elizabeth frowned, glaring at the woman. "You won't keep that boy from me!" Elizabeth hissed.

"You did that yourself," Bella answered with a glare.

Emmett walked over to Elizabeth. "You aren't welcome here, now please leave before I am forced to remove you from this house," he told her. Elizabeth glared before she flicked her hair over her shoulder and left the house. Closing the door behind her, Emmett looked over at his girlfriend to see her sitting on the steps with her head in her hands. "Babe, you can't let her get to you," he told her.

"No, I'm just irritated that for the first two months of Eli's life I couldn't get her to come over, it took Edward's death to give a damn. Even so, I don't think she cares about him like she claims," she answered.

She rested her head on his shoulder, holding her hand in his. "I hate this Em," she murmured. Emmett kissed her forehead, moving his hand up and down her back.

"I know, but the storm will pass," he assured her.

"I hope so," she said softly.

The two of them sat there on the stairs in silence before they went to celebrate Eli's birthday like they had wanted.

The next night, Bella walked out of her bookstore, swinging her keys around on her finger. As she walked over to her car, she suddenly felt like she was being watched. Lifting her head, she looked around. "Hello?" she called out. When she didn't receive an answer, she simply shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk over to her truck. Just as she was about to climb in, she suddenly felt a cloth cover her nose and mouth. Struggling hard, she started fighting against her attacker.

"Relax," a voice hissed into her ear.

Even though she struggled, her eyes grew heavy and then unconsciousness took over her.

Back at the Cullen home, Emmett was putting Dana down for the night when he realized Bella wasn't home. "I'm gonna go find your mama," he told his daughter. Walking over to his cell phone that sat on the shelf, he hit Bella's speed-dial number.

"Hey, this is Bella, I'm not able to answer my phone so just leave me a message," the voicemail played.

"Babe, it's me, I'm just wondering if you're coming home soon. Alright, see you when you come home, love you," he left on her voicemail before hanging up.

Something didn't feel right, something was completely off and it bothered him. "Mom! Dad! I'm heading over to Bella's store," he called out as he walked over to grab his keys.

"Is everything okay?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know, I'm about to go find out," he replied before leaving.

Jumping into his jeep, he sped off towards town.

Arriving into town, he saw Bella's truck with the door wide open. Jumping out, he looked around. "BELLA!" he shouted, looking around. He saw her keys and bag lying on the ground. Ripping out his cell phone, he dialed 911.

"911 what's your emergency?" the operator asked.

"Yeah, my girlfriend's truck is sitting abandoned with her stuff scattered everywhere, I think she's been kidnapped," Emmett replied with his heart racing.

In a white truck heading out of town, Bella was lying in the back of the truck with a blanket over her. She had her arms and feet bound with duct tape over her mouth. Her kidnapper kept glancing out the back window before continuing to speed through town, hoping for no one to catch them.

When Bella came to, she heard the truck stop and looked at her bound feet. Struggling, she tried to wriggle her feet loose from the bungee chords around her ankles. Just as she got her feet freed, someone opened the back of the truck. "Alright, time to get you out of here," her kidnapper commented. Kicking out with her foot, her heel connected to their mouth. Taking this moment of distraction, she jumped out of the back of the truck and started running towards the forest.

Bella ran as fast as she could when she tripped and fell face first to the ground. The duct tape had come off her mouth from the fall and she struggled against the binds on her wrists. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" she screamed as she tried to get up. She cried out in pain when her attacker grabbed her hair.

"Shit are you more trouble than you're worth," the person muttered, covering her mouth.

Opening her mouth, she bit down on his finger, making him shout in pain. Spinning the woman around, he backhanded her and Bella hit the ground, her head hitting a rock and rendered her unconscious. "I better get paid extra for this," her kidnapper muttered as he wiped the blood from his lip, "I'm going to need stitches for this one." Picking Bella up, he threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he walked down the trail back towards a cabin.

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the short chapter, I didn't want to write too much to give too much away already. I apologize for the short updates, I've been working 60 hour weeks, haven't been able to get much writing done. Good news my book _The Haunted Investigator_ should be released in the Spring or Summer. I will keep you updated. Thank you again for your patience.**

**Arwennicole**


	27. Standing Strong

Chapter 27: Standing Strong

Wherever Bella was, the young woman was waking up to her wrists tied tightly behind her and each leg tied to the chair she was sitting in. "Well, look who decided to wake up," a familiar voice sneered. Bella lifted her head when Elizabeth walked through the door of the cabin. It was obvious it was raining outside again, since the older woman was drenched from head to toe. "I hate that you insist on raising my grandchild in this dreary town, it has no…personality," Elizabeth commented.

"Taking me won't get you close to Eli," Bella answered.

The woman glared at her. "I will get what I want from you," she hissed. Bella just glared at her, swallowing hard.

"Taking Eli won't bring Edward back, he's not Edward," Bella answered.

"He's part of my baby boy, my baby," Elizabeth answered.

The young woman felt her heart race against her chest as her kidnapper paced the floor. It was then she noticed a man sitting in the corner watching with a slight sneer. "Oh, Bella I believe you've already met James," she commented.

"**_Hey, how about some fun_**," his voice echoed in her ears from that night.

Her eyes grew wide as James just sneered at her. "Nice to see you again beautiful," he commented with a slight laugh, "Prettier than you were before."

"Enough chit-chat James, I'm busy," Elizabeth hissed.

James just rolled his eyes as he twisted the tip of his knife into the arm of the chair he was sitting in. Elizabeth looked at the young woman before walking behind her, gripping the back of the chair and shoved her into at able. Bella cried out and gasped for air as the side of the table went right into her ribs. "You're a heavy sleeper, three days, we're behind schedule," Elizabeth snapped.

"For what?" Bella asked, "Don't tell me I'm late for my own funeral."

Elizabeth backhanded the woman, making Bella's head jerk to the side and her long locks flew over her face. "Don't sass me," she hissed. Bella spit the blood from her mouth and glared at her.

"Demanding the impossible are we?" Bella asked.

"You spend too much time with your next meal ticket," her former mother-in-law snapped.

"Why am I here?" Bella demanded.

The deranged older woman looked at her late son's wife with a glare. "You want to see your precious Emmett again?" she snapped.

"Depending on what you want me to do," Bella replied.

Elizabeth clicked her tongue, and there was a long pause before she placed a pile of papers in front of the young woman, along with a pen. Bella stared at the papers, laughing a little. "Want me to write you an essay on how crazy you are?" she asked.

"No, just you are giving all your parental rights to Elijah away," Elizabeth replied.

Staring at the papers, Bella raised her eyebrow at the woman. "I can give that boy more than you can ever give him," she insisted.

"Yea? The same life you wanted for Edward? The reason he left Phoenix the first place?" Bella asked.

She gasped in pain when the older woman grabbed her head, forcing her head back. "You stole my son away!" Elizabeth hissed.

"I went to school…that's all I did. I didn't do anything, your son chased me not the other way around," Bella answered.

"LIAR!" Elizabeth screamed, shoving Bella to the floor.

Bella screamed in pain as her head hit the floor and felt one of her wrists break from the impact. "Ouch, careful there Lizzie, can break the hand you need her to sign those papers with," James commented.

"Shut up!" Elizabeth snapped.

Grabbing the chair, Elizabeth pulled her back up. "You destroyed my son's life!" she shrieked into her face.

"It's not like I raped the man! He was a big boy to make his own decisions! All I ever did was love him!" Bella exclaimed.

Elizabeth smacked her again and Bella felt more blood fill her mouth, making her gag a little at the iron taste. "I want your son since you stole mine!" the woman snapped.

"Edward wasn't even living with you, he was living with his grandparents who moved to Phoenix so he could go to school with his friends," Bella answered.

"My in-laws were senile!" Elizabeth hissed.

"They were wonderful people and you know it!" Bella snapped.

Slamming her hands on the table, Elizabeth was letting out shaky breaths. "Sign the papers," she demanded.

"No," Bella answered defiantly.

"I'll let James have his way with you then," Elizabeth told her.

Bella shook her head slowly. "You really, truly think that having him touch me? Having him kill me will get you what you want?" she asked.

"I'm Eli's only living relative! If anything were to happen to you I'd get him!" Elizabeth hissed.

"Wrong, my son goes to the next legal guardian I had decided, guess what, you aren't it," Bella answered.

There was silence in the whole cabin and Elizabeth wrote something down on a piece of paper. Walking over to James, she handed it to him. He read over its contents before standing up, fixing his jeans. "Yes ma'am," he said with a grin. He leered at Bella before leaving the cabin.

"What are you doing?" Bella demanded.

Instead of answering, Elizabeth grabbed her purse and fixed her hair. "Good evening, Miss Swan," she sneered before leaving.

"Elizabeth! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Bella shouted just as the door slammed closed.

Back at the Cullen house, Emmett walked in to see Charlie sitting in the living room with his head in his hand. "My mom thought you'd need this," Emmett commented, placing the cup beside his girlfriend's father.

"Thanks," Charlie answered.

Emmett sat down; staring at the unopened can of the energy drink, he had taken out of the fridge. "Any news at all Chief?" he asked.

"Nothing yet, but hopefully we'll get prints off her truck. It looks like Bella struggled," Charlie answered.

Emmett nodded his head slowly, rubbing his hands together. "Where's Eli?" Charlie asked.

"My mom just took him upstairs for bed," Emmett answered.

Nodding, the older man placed his gun on the tabletop as he stared at the evidence in front of him dealing with Bella. Beside him was the tapped phone line just in case the kidnappers were to call for a ransom. "Are you sure it's not Elizabeth?" Emmett asked.

"Her alibi checks out, Emmett. Security camera shows that she was at her hotel around the time Bella was taken from the parking lot," Charlie replied.

The young man stared at the floor, putting his head in his hands. "I know you're about to smash some heads in, but please don't. I don't want to have to arrest you too," he commented.

"Easier said than done, I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her," Emmett answered.

Charlie looked over at his daughter's boyfriend, seeing the distraught look on his face. "I promised you I'd take care of her," he added.

"You've been doing a great job at it too," Charlie answered.

The two of them fell into silence, staring at their drinks when Emmett stood up. "Where are you going?" Carlisle asked when his son walked by him.

"I'm going back to where Bella's truck was found, maybe the guy dropped something," Emmett answered.

Charlie got up, grabbing his gun off the table and holstering it. "Hang on, I'll go too, you can't be at the actual crime scene," he pointed out.

"Well I'm going to find out if I can find something," Emmett answered before grabbing his keys.

Carlisle watched as the two of them left and Esme stood beside her husband. "You need to go with Emmett, he's going to need his father," she insisted. Nodding his head slowly, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before he went after the two of them.

When they arrived back at the crime scene, Emmett was reluctant to watch as Charlie paced the scene. "Anything?" Carlisle asked.

"No, just the treads from the tires of the car I told you about earlier," Charlie replied, "Which means someone got out of the car and grabbed her while she wasn't looking."

Emmett dragged his fingers through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh when Carlisle gripped his son's shoulder in the attempt to comfort him.

What the three men didn't see, was a black sedan pulling up. None of them noticed until they all felt like they were being watched. They looked up just in time to see a black figure standing in the trees. Suddenly, Carlisle's adrenaline pumped through his system when he saw the man reach into his sweater, and he was looking straight at Emmett. "EMMETT!" he shouted, pushing his unsuspecting son to the ground just as the man shot off several shots.

Charlie had whipped out his own gun, firing two shots, one of the shots catching the shooter in the arm. The man jumped into his car and sped off, squealing his tires while Charlie was trying to shoot out his tires. When the car was out of range, Charlie grabbed his walkie talkie, calling for backup when he looked at the two Cullen men who were on the ground. "Are you hit?" Carlisle asked Emmett.

Emmett went to check for injuries from the shots fired at him when he saw blood on the front of his shirt. It was then he noticed that the blood wasn't his. Carlisle fell back, holding his side. "DAD!" Emmett shouted, grabbing him before his head collided with the pavement.

"I need backup and an ambulance now!" Charlie ordered into his walkie talkie before running over to Carlisle and Emmett.

Emmett had his hands pressed against his father's side in the attempt to stop the bleeding, just as his father taught him just in case something were to happen where this kind of first aid care was needed. He looked in the direction of the sedan, his shoulders shaking and his jaw locking in anger. "Emmett, your dad needs you," Charlie insisted. Emmett looked in the direction once more before looking at Carlisle in the attempt to keep him conscious.


	28. Fighting

Chapter 28: Fighting

Emmett was fuming as he was pacing the hospital. "Emmett, calm down wanting to break up the hospital won't make the doctor tell us dad's condition faster," Alice told him with a shaky voice.

"No but I'll feel better," he answered.

The petite young woman jumped when her older brother slammed his fist into the nearest wall. "Son of a bitch why the hell did I want to go out there?" he muttered as he sat down with his head in his hands. Esme stood behind her son, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered, pressing his forehead against the wall.

"Esme," a voice called out.

Esme was relieved to see a familiar face walk through the doors. "Garrett, what's happening?" she asked.

"He's going to be fine, the bullet missed any vital organs, he just lost a lot of blood so he's unconscious right now, but he is stable," he told her.

Emmett hugged his mother as she let out a sob of relief and rested his chin on the top of her head as he rubbed her back. "He's a lucky man, one inch closer it could've pierced through his lung," Garrett told Emmett. Alice got up and Emmett pulled his sister into his free arm.

"Can we see him?" Alice asked.

"One at a time," he replied.

The two of them looked at Esme. "You should go, sure dad would wake up with you there," he told his mother. They watched as Esme left with Garrett and Emmett let out a deep breath.

"I know who did this," he told Alice suddenly.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"I know who took Bella," he answered, "I recognized the damn car."

Before Alice could say anything, she watched as Emmett stormed out of the hospital.

Joanna was walking to her car, swinging her keys around on her finger. She walked over to her black sedan and got in. Just as she was about to start the car up, she let out a scream when Emmett was on the roof of it, glaring at her. "Where is she Joanna?" he ordered.

"Get off my car!" Joanna exclaimed.

"Where's Bella?" He snapped.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she hissed.

Emmett continued to glare at her. "Get out of the car," he told her.

"Now you really lost your mind," she answered.

She jumped with a shriek when he punched the hood of her car, causing a large dent. "GET OUT!" he shouted.

"Okay, okay," she answered.

As she got out of the car, she just barely got the door closed when Emmett grabbed her by her throat, slamming her up against the side of the car by her throat. "I don't hit women, but I'm considering it if you don't give me the answers I want!" he snapped as she gripped his wrist.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered, as she kept a grip on his wrist.

"Where's Bella?" he demanded.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed.

"You do know! I saw your car outside the crime scene the moment your guy shot at me and got my dad!" he snapped, "HE WAS USING YOUR CAR!"

Joanna's eyes grew wide as she kept a grip on his wrist in the attempt to keep him from strangling her. "You do know!" he hissed.

"I don't know what you're talking about Emmett really," she insisted, "What do you mean were shot at?"

He could see the shock and fear in her eyes. "Who are you working with Joanna? Where is Bella!" he demanded.

"I don't know!" she answered.

Emmett glared at her as his grip started to tighten on her throat. Her eyes grew wide as she tried to scratch at his wrist in the attempt to get him to let her go. "Okay! Okay!" she cried out of breath. She shrieked when Emmett let her go and she dropped to the ground, holding her throat and gasping for air.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"I don't know, I really don't know Emmett," she answered, gasping for air.

"Are you working for Elizabeth Masen?" he demanded.

"I'm not working for anyone!" she answered.

She shook her head slowly. "Some woman named Masen did approach me, telling me that we could work together to get back at you," she told him.

"Was it Elizabeth Masen?" he asked.

"I think so, but I didn't want to do it," she replied.

"WHO THEN?" he shouted.

Joanna's eyes grew wide when he grabbed her wrist and she felt it started to break. "Who?" he demanded.

"I promise I'll tell you anything you want! Just don't hurt me!" she begged.

Emmett glared at her and let her go. "Who is it Joanna?" he ordered. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

Back in the cabin, Bella was slowly loosening the ropes around her wrists while James was pacing the room, staring at her. She just made it look like she was unconscious from the beating Elizabeth had given her before leaving. "You know, I do have a lot of victims, but you're one I like to remember," he commented. Bella lifted her head, glaring at him. "The way your soft skin felt as I held onto you," he added as he stood behind her, his fingers tracing over her jaw. Bella jerked her head to the side, trying to pull away, but he gripped her face. "The way you screamed when my friend stabbed your precious husband to death," he sneered.

Bella felt a lump form in her throat, remembering the look on Edward's face when Riley stabbed him. "Ah I struck a nerve," he sneered, tracing his finger along her throat. Locking her jaw, Bella swung her head back and the back of her head connected to his nose. "Ah! Son of a bitch!" he snarled.

Getting out of her jacket with her wrists freed, Bella let out a gasp when he tried to grab her. She held her wrist before she ran as fast as she could out of the cabin.

Running through the forest, the young woman ran desperately to escape her kidnappers. She had no idea where she was, or how far she was from Forks if she was even anywhere near it at all. She looked at her wrist that was still throbbing, holding it to her chest as she slid to the ground. She pulled her knees up to her chest with tears streaming down her face. It was dark and it was cold, there was snow on the ground, showing she was in the mountain range somewhere. "Someone help me," she whispered.

Looking around, her brown eyes scanned for anything familiar when she heard shouting. Letting out a gasp, she got up and started running away from the sounds of the voices. "GET BACK HERE!" she heard Elizabeth scream at the top of her lungs.

Bella fell down another hill, wincing as the fall jerked her already broken wrist. Climbing to her feet, she ran until she felt like her heart was about to burst. She stopped and slid to the ground while pulling her knees to her chest as she started crying softly. She lied down on her side as the cold started to get to her body. She let out a shaky breath as her eyes looked up at the stars. "Edward…help me," she whispered as her eyes slid closed.

Emmett was speeding up to Joanna's brother's cabin. "Are you sure about this?" he demanded.

"I'm not lying I swear, James has been looking for a job but no one will hire him because of his history," she replied.

Emmett let out a deep breath when he slammed on the brakes when they came to the cabin. They saw James outside holding what appeared to be a broken nose. Getting out of the car, he ran over and grabbed the man, throwing him to the wall. "DON'T!" Joanna screamed.

"Where is she you son of a bitch?" Emmett snapped.

"I don't know, she took off," James answered truthfully.

Throwing his girlfriend's captor to the ground, he ran off into the forest to find his girlfriend. "BELLA!" he shouted as he ran down the hills, desperately trying to find her. It was dark, it was cold. The chill couldn't even penetrate his adrenaline fueled body. "BELLA! ANSWER ME BABY!" he shouted.

He slid down a hill when he saw what looked like fall marks. There was also blood on the leaves. "Bella?" He called out. He looked over to see ropes and duct tape scattered all over the ground. Climbing to his feet, he looked to see footprints that were Bella's size going down a trail.

After searching for another hour, he saw a curled up figure in the snow and fallen leaves. Hurrying over to the figure, he saw that it was Bella. "Bella!" he exclaimed. He touched her face to feel that it was cold as ice. "Oh God! Oh God baby no," he murmured. He brushed the freshly fallen snow off her and checked for a pulse. She had one, but it was barely there. "Bella, baby, talk to me," he begged softly as he pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her. "I've got you baby, I've got you," he whispered.

He hurried her back to his car where police were there to arrest James for his crimes. Joanna looked over to see Emmett carrying an unconscious Bella through the trees. "Help! Someone help!" he called out.

"Bella, my God!" Charlie exclaimed when he ran over.

"I found her buried under leaves and snow," Emmett told Charlie as paramedics ran over with a gurney.

The paramedics checked for her pulse while they put a humidified air mask over her nose and mouth. "Get a warm IV fluid started," one paramedics instructed. Emmett felt his stomach twist in knots as they rushed the young woman to an ambulance.

"Is she allergic to anything?" the second paramedic asked.

"No Jerry," Charlie replied.

"Anything we should know?" the first paramedic asked.

Emmett's throat tightened as he stared at his barely alive girlfriend. Everything was a blur as he felt his world crumble around him as they rushed her to the hospital. He backed up with his hands on the back of his neck as he tried to keep himself together. Except, the fact she was so cold…paler than ever before. Not even her lips had any color to them, it was almost like she was a corpse. "Emmett," he heard Charlie call, but it sounded so far away. It was then he realized he was sitting on the ground. "Emmett! Bella needs you right now," Charlie told him, shaking him out of his shock. Emmett looked at him and Charlie was staring right back at him. "Come on, we need to get to the hospital," he insisted, pulling the young man to his feet.

They both hurried over to Charlie's squad car car, hoping that Bella would be alright when they got her to the hospital.


	29. Bella's Choice

Chapter 29: Bella's choice

Emmett was sitting in the hospital waiting room, bouncing is knee nervously. There was no news on Bella's condition and he was a mess. "Please let Bella be okay…please…" he whispered as he kept his head in his hands.

In ICU, the doctors were rushing to get Bella's body temperature back to normal. "Heart rate is dropping," a nurse called out.

"Blood pressure is low," another nurse answered.

_Bella was floating, she felt like she was floating on a cloud. Opening her eyes, she looked around to see that she was in a house. Frowning, she looked around. "Hello?" she called out. This was far from what she was expecting when she was close to death._

"_Hello, Bella," a voice greeted behind her._

_ Freezing, she recognized that voice, she knew it all too well. Turning around slowly, she saw Edward standing there and let out a gasp. "Edward!" she exclaimed. Running over to him, she threw her arms tightly around him. Edward hugged her back, kissing the side of her head._

"_Oh, Bella…" he whispered, rubbing her back._

_ Setting her down on the floor, Bella reached up and placed her hands on his face. "You're real!" she gasped. He couldn't help but chuckle._

"_Of course I'm real, love, why wouldn't I be?" he asked with a half-smirk._

_ She held onto his hands with tears in her eyes. It was then she noticed that everything he was wearing was the same as it was when he was killed. "Is this a dream?" she asked quietly._

"_Not exactly," he replied._

_ She bit her lower lip as she looked around the room. "Where are we?" she asked. Holding her hand, he let out a deep breath._

"_We're in what would've been our home in Chicago," he replied softly._

_ Turning around, she looked at him. "Chicago?" she asked._

"_It was going to be a surprise," he replied._

_ The two of them were silent for a little bit. "Edward…if I'm not dreaming…am I dead?" she asked quietly._

"_No…you're more in between," he replied._

_ The two of them sat down in the middle of the living room floor and she pushed another strand of hair out of her face. "Why are we here then?" she asked._

"_Because I'm here to tell you to keep fighting," he replied._

_ The young woman stared at the floor and let out a deep breath. "Edward…it's so hard to fight though, it's just too hard," she murmured._

"_I know it is," he answered._

_ Swallowing hard, she lifted her eyes, looking at him. "I have no fight left in me…" she whispered._

Back in the waiting room, Emmett looked up when the doors opened and the doctor came out. "Is she okay?" Charlie asked as the two of them stood up. The man let out a deep breath.

"I wish it was good news, Bella has suffered a lot of trauma. She suffered a massive concussion and she was in the advanced stages of hyperthermia," the doctor explained.

"She will be okay right? Please tell me she's going to make it," Emmett answered.

The doctor could only frown. "I'm doing the best I can, the only thing we can do is hope," he told the two men. He looked at them apologetically and the young man took two steps back feeling his whole world begin to crumble around him. Bella, his Bella, she was probably dying and there was nothing he could to stop it. Charlie spun around when he heard the wall crack and saw Emmett standing there with his fist in the wall.

"Emmett!" he called to the young man, grabbing his shoulder.

"I was too late, I was too damn late!" Emmett exclaimed.

He let out shaky breaths as he tried to keep himself together, but it was the hardest thing he could ever do. "Emmett, listen to me," Charlie insisted, "Bella needs you, she might not be able to hear you but dammit I haven't seen my daughter's smile in a long time before she met you."

"I'm supposed to protect her, I promised you I would," Emmett answered, "I should kill that son of a bitch!"

"No, you need to be strong here, for Bella, for Eli, and Dana. They need you," Charlie insisted.

Emmett swallowed hard and saw the misty look in Charlie's eyes as he spoke. "I have to go down to the police station, call me the minute she wakes up," he added before leaving. Emmett watched as he left and went down the hall towards Bella's room.

Walking in, he felt his stomach twist at the sight in front of him. His beloved Bella was lying in a hospital bed wrapped in what looked like ten blankets, she had an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, her skin was so white it almost matched the walls, and she had needles stuck in her arms and machines surrounding her. Making his way over to the side of her bed, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cool skin. "Bella…please…can you hear me?" he whispered, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "Please give me a sign that you can hear me."

_Bella was staring at Edward as they sat in the middle of the floor. "What happens to me now?" she asked quietly._

"_Are you truly thinking of giving up?" Edward asked._

"_I am too tired to fight anymore, it is a fight I can't seem to win," she answered._

_ Shaking his head slowly, Edward let out a deep breath. "Because I'm not there?" he asked. The young woman fell silent, her eyes downcast towards the floor. "That's not fair, Bella, not fair to our son or yourself," he replied._

"_Eli is probably better off with a more stable person than a mother who keeps getting him into trouble," she murmured._

"_You've been a wonderful mother, Eli __**and**__ Dana adore you," he answered._

_ Feeling her heart break, she lifted her head to look at him. "Our time together was taken from us, it's not fair," she told him. Sighing, he moved to sit beside her and rested his hand over hers._

"_Bella, I hate to be the one to put it this way, but…life isn't fair sometimes. Life is cruel and sometimes it plays mean tricks that throws you off course just when you feel like you have everything figured out," he told her._

_ She bit her lower lip and he pushed her bangs from her eyes. "But not all life is bad, there is good in it. You have part of me, you have a son who loves you more than anything in this world. Right now that little boy is sitting at home wondering where his mama is," he added._

"_But he doesn't ask about you," she replied._

_ Tears welled up in her eyes. "Eli never asks where his daddy s," she added._

"_That's because he has Emmett, who has been there for the moments I can't be," he replied._

_ Swallowing against the hard lump in her throat, she pulled her knees up to her chest and Edward moved so he was in front of her and moved his hands along her shins. "Bella…you have someone who wants to love you," he told her. He moved his thumbs into circles over her legs. "Emmett loves you, the man has gone crazy trying to find you," he added._

_ Suddenly, the mention of Emmett's name made her heart constrict and Edward nodded his head slowly when he saw the look on her face. "It's okay to love him," he whispered._

"_How is it okay to love another man when I'm married to you?" she asked._

"_Because I love you enough to let you find happiness in your life," he replied._

_ Edward reached up and stroked her cheek. "You are allowed to love this man, he loves you. He probably loves you as much as I do," he told her. Standing up, he helped her up and walked her towards the front door. "Let me show you something," he murmured._

_ Opening the door, he stepped through and had Bella go with him. Instead of entering Chicago's busy streets, they were in a hospital room. Bella was looking at herself in the hospital bed. She almost couldn't recognize herself lying in the hospital bed. Beside her bed was Emmett, sleeping, his head was beside her with his hands gripping hers. "You have been unconscious for a week now," he told her._

"_A week?" Bella asked stunned._

_ Edward nodded his head slowly. "Emmett hasn't left, barely eats, and barely sleeps," he told her as he stood on the other side of the hospital bed. Bella stared at herself, feeling sick to see herself this way. She looked at the heart monitor to see it beating slowly, too slowly for her liking. "The doctors have been trying to get Emmett to leave, but he won't," he added. Biting her lower lip, she reached out to try to touch him, but instead of her hand went straight through._

"_Do I have a choice?" she asked, looking at Edward._

_ Edward was leaning against the wall. "You always have a choice, you can either stay….or come with me," he replied. She stared him, to see him staring at her unconscious form._

"_You don't want me to come…" she said quietly._

_ Lifting his head, he let out a deep breath. "It's not that I don't want you to come, it'd be selfish of me to want you to come," he replied, "To cheat you out on a life that I know you'll have with Emmett just to spend eternity with you? That's too selfish for me." Bella continued to stare at Emmett's sleeping form._

"_I'll have a life with him?" she asked._

"_Yes, a happy one at that," he replied._

"_Really?" she asked._

_ Edward couldn't help but chuckle to see the look in her eyes at the idea of being happy with Emmett. "Yes, truly happy, I can't tell you that bit, that's for you to find out if you stay," he replied. Suddenly, she looked back at up him.._

"_What would happen to him if I chose to go?" she asked._

_ Edward was silent for a minute. "Emmett will go on…he'll marry Rosalie, but all they'll have is a marriage, nothing else. She'll raise Eli and Dana, be a good mom to both of them. Emmett will be a great father, love them as a father would love his children, but he wouldn't be truly happy. All he would be able to think about is you, how much he loves you, how he blames himself that you died," he replied._

"_But it wouldn't be his fault," she insisted._

"_You think Emmett would see it that way?" he asked._

_ The silence was almost deafening and Edward made his way over to Bella. "I will be over there…" he told her gesturing to the door behind her, "Come in if you want to go, I'll know if you decide to stay." Bella bit her lower lip as she watched as Edward went back towards the door they went through. She looked where her husband went and looked back where Emmett slept. Letting out a deep breath, she made her way towards the door and gripped the doorknob, but then she once again looked back towards Emmett's sleeping form._

Emmett was asleep, even in the uncomfortable position of sleeping with his head by Bella, he refused to move. Suddenly, he woke up to the feeling of someone touching his face. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see Bella staring at him. "Bella!" he gasped standing up. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, holding onto her. "Baby I knew you'd come back," he told her, hugging her gently. Grabbing the call button, he called for a nurse when Bella gripped his hand tightly. Looking back at her, her brown eyes locked with his blue eyes.

"I…love…you," she whispered.

Feeling his heart soar, he pulled Bella into an embrace without dislodging any of the needles or machines that she was attached to. "I love you too baby, I love you too," he answered, holding her close to him.


	30. Epilogue

Epilogue: The way it Should be

Bella smiled as she was getting her now six-year-old son, Eli, ready for school. The boy was pouting a little as she zipped up his jacket. "What's wrong sweetheart?" she asked.

"The hat is itchy," he replied with a pout.

"It's cold you, you need it," she assured him.

Eli was still brooding, making his mother laugh softly. "You look like your daddy when you do that," she said smiling.

"Mommy! I weady!" Dana exclaimed as she hurried into the room.

Bella looked at the little girl, laughing to see her all dressed like toddler would dress herself. "Oh baby girl," she said smiling. Walking over, she helped her daughter get her clothes ready for daycare.

"What's going on here?" Emmett asked with a smile.

"Papa, do I have to wear this?" Eli asked.

Emmett looked at Bella, who nodded her head to him. "Sorry buddy, your mom said the hat stays on," he commented. Eli let out a sigh and Emmett lifted the boy up into his arms.

"Ready buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah," Eli replied.

Bella smiled, pushing her hair over her shoulder. She watched as Emmett got Eli ready for school. Ever since her near death experience three years ago, she found herself enjoying her time with her son and now husband more than she had before, especially now that things were starting to change in the family, and the kids were getting ready for school.

Emmett looked at his wife to see her off in a daydream. Walking over, he pulled her into his arms. "You're so far away, babe, where are you?" he asked softly into her ear. Looking at him, she gave him a small smile.

"Just thinking of how lucky I am," she said softly.

Holding her close, moved his hand up and down her back. "Me too, babe, me too," he murmured. He was so glad that things had calmed down over the last few years. Now thatElizabethhad been caught and put in jail for all of her crimes, including the crime of being tied to Edward's murder.

Come to find out,Elizabethhad hired to kill Bella, but the plan went wrong and Edward had been killed instead. The woman yelled and screamed in court the day of her sentencing that it should've been Bella who died and not her son. Emmett only held Bella close, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. If it weren't for Emmett, she had no idea if she would've been able to get through any of this.

Eli was standing by the door anxiously. "Come on, papa," he insisted.

"Our kids need you," she said smiling.

"So they do," he answered.

Kissing her forehead, he held her close. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she answered.

Emmett crouched down in front of her bulging belly, kissing it. "By baby, daddy will see you soon," he told their unborn child. Smiling, she rubbed her stomach as her husband picked up both of the kids and went off to school and daycare. Bella watched them go, feeling the baby kick and moved under her hands.

Emmett and Bella got married about six months afterElizabeth's sentencing. Bella always thought she would never marry again, but then this wonderful man came into her life and changed everything. In turn, she changed him, it wasn't something she planned, but it happened. When Johanna was finally put in jail for her crimes against Emmett, she saw him change back into the happy, big teddy bear that she had met when she first arrived in Forks.

A year after the wedding, Bella successfully opened her own bookstore/coffee shop. She absolutely loved it, she really loved that she could raise the kids in a peaceful environment. Being close to her dad was also a plus, getting to know him better than she ever had before.

Making her way into the living room, she sat down with a cup of hot cocoa and started typing up an email to her mother. Renee insisted on pictures of the baby, even if they were just pictures of Bella's growing that the baby as going to be a girl and was practically on her knees begging for the opportunity to decorate the baby's room. The only reason they relented was when they got her to agree to neutral colors since they had no idea if they were having a boy or a girl.

Sending off her email, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She felt the baby kick and smiled softly. "You just really love playing that game with me," She said to her bump, laughing a little. Letting out a sigh, she lied down on the couch and closed her eyes as he fell asleep.

At Emmett's construction company, Cullen Construction, later that afternoon, he was sitting at his desk doing paperwork when his secretary came in. "Emmett, your wife is on the phone," she told him.

"Thanks, Leah," he answered.

Grabbing his phone, he hit the button to get the number transferred. "Hey babe," he greeted.

"Hey, Em…can you come home?" Bella asked.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Well, my contractions are about six minutes apart, but other than that I'm ok," she replied.

Emmett's eyes grew wide. "What? Okay, I'm coming, on my way," He told her, hanging up. Getting up, he grabbed his keys. "Leah! I'm going to need you to lock up!" he called to her.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yep, Bella's in labor I have to go get her," he replied.

"Okay, good luck!" she called out as he ran out the door.

Speeding up to the house, Emmett got out of the car and ran inside. Bella was standing in the hall with her suitcase in hand "How far apart are the contractions?" he asked.

"Five minutes," she replied, breathing through her next one.

"When did they start?" he asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, I woke up to them," she replied.

Emmett held her hand as he helped her out to the car. "Everything's going to be okay," he told her.

"I know," she answered smiling.

Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to his wife's lips before he ran around to the driver's side, jumped in, and sped off.

**(Three Hours Later)**

Bella was gripping Emmett's hand as tight as she could. "You're doing great, Bella," the doctor told her.

"I feel like I'm being torn in two!" she cried out.

"Just one more push," the doctor answered.

Emmett kissed the side of his wife's head as she squeezed his hand with all her might as she pushed. With that push, she felt her child leave her body and she fell back against Emmett's arm, gasping for air. Their child's screams filled the room. "We have a boy," the doctor told her.

"A boy," she said with tears in her eyes.

Emmett smiled through his tears when he saw his son. "We have a son, babe," he told her as he took his son into his arms. The baby immediately stopped screaming and looked up at him. "Hey buddy," he said smiling, "I'm your dad." Bella smiled through her tears as she watched the bond form between father and son. "Here's your mommy," he whispered, placing the baby into Bella's arms. Bella looked at her son with a smile on her face.

"Hi, hi there little man," she cooed, stroking his cheek.

The newborn let out a little noise as he tried to wrap his hand around her finger. "Oh I'm going to love you forever," she whispered, kissing his forehead softly. Emmett sat beside her with a smile, kissing her shoulder.

"Do you have a name for the baby?" the nurse asked.

Bella glanced at the woman, then at Emmett before looking at the baby in her arms. "Masen Carlisle Charles Cullen," Emmett said suddenly, surprising Bella.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"Name him after the three most important guys in our lives," he replied simply.

Smiling, she rested her head on his shoulder. "You are an incredible man," She whispered. Smiling, he held her close.

"Only because I have an incredible woman by my side," he whispered.

He kissed her forehead softly. "I love you," she said softly.

"I love you," he answered smiling as they looked at their son.

Later on, Bella was resting in her hospital bed with Masen in her arms. She looked up when Eli and Dana were let in. "Mommy!" they said smiling, running over to her.

"Hey you guys, look at your new baby brother," she said smiling.

Emmett helped them onto the bed and they looked at their brother with smiles on their faces. Anyone who walked by the room would see a happy, perfect family. Never knowing of the pain that was in the past, where the past would stay. They were happy and no one was ever going to take that way, not ever.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update everyone, my computer broke and I also published a book. If you're all interested it is available on Amazon dot come and Barnes and Noble dot come. It's called The Haunted Investigator under my pen name, N. J. M. Meilstrup. Thank you guys for your support and sorry for the delay again. Thank you everyone for your support and I hope you loved the story. Even though it's sad it's now over *frowns*. Thank you again for all of your support. See you guys next time!**

**Arwennicole**


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